The German civil society organisation RAA Sachsen and their project „Guidelines and Support Standards for Victims of Hate Crimes“, gathered together specialist victim support providers from across Europe to share knowledge about good practice. In 2015 RAA Sachsen invited 23 independent civil society Hate Crime Victim Support organisations from 18 European OSCE-countries, along with several academics, to two symposia in Berlin to share their knowledge and expertise. The goal was to combine and share practitioner understanding about supporting and counselling victims of hate crime.

The short book, Hate Crime Victim Support in Europe – A Practical Guide, presents the knowledge gathered and provides useful practical case study illustrations of supporting hate crime victims. This comprehensive guide shares the deep experience and knowledge of hate crime victim support providers with a broader audience.

It also provides practitioners, criminal justice professionals, civil servants, policy-makers and politicians a comprehensive approach about how to fulfill EU Directive 2012/29/EU on establishing minimum standards on rights, support and protection of victims of crime and the OSCE decision No. 9/09 on Combating Hate Crimes.

Dr Michael Privot, Director of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), in endorsing the guide stated:

“No doubt this guide will be pioneering in making the voices of victims heard, and ensuring that they are properly cared for…the guide is comprehensive, written in an accessible language, and addresses both long-time practitioners and newcomers to the field. Although civil society organisations are its primary target audience, civil servants in the judiciary, judges, police officers, lawyers, and all those working on healing processes (medical doctors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, counsellors) will also considerably benefit from the content and perspectives presented in this guide—its victim-centred approach in particular.”