Awareness-raising

Victims of crime: the EU Commission’s campaign on rights and support gets underway

The ‘Keep Your Eyes Open’ initiative aims to raise awareness of this issue amongst Italian citizens and to provide victims with a support network

by Camilla Curcio

22 September 2026

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3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

To raise public awareness – and in particular amongst the younger generations – of the rights of victims of crime in Italia and of the support and assistance available. This is the aim of ‘Keep your eyes open’, the new information campaign launched to coincide with Rome Future Week, which, from yesterday until 27 September, will shine a spotlight on the themes of the future, innovation, sustainability and inclusion.

The objectives

Stemming from the European Strategy on Victims’ Rights, which aims to ensure the fullest possible promotion and protection of victims’ rights – and which the Commission intends to extend into the next term of office – the campaign emphasises the need to come to terms the reality of crime in Italia, addressing primarily victims, family members and close friends, and, more generally, urging all citizens never to look the other way.

‘Crimes can have profound and lasting effects on victims. They must be listened to, supported and treated with respect and fairness throughout their journey through the criminal justice system. This requires robust legislation and policies, together with the active involvement of society as a whole, to ensure that victims’ rights are effectively protected”, explained Michael McGrath, European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection.

Beyond its purely educational purpose, ‘Keep Your Eyes Open’ also aims to encourage citizens ‘to build a supportive community around those affected’, drawing on the idea that, according to McGrath, ‘remaining vigilant and raising awareness are important steps towards strengthening protection, support and justice’ for those who have suffered (more or less) serious harm.

Low awareness amongst young people

To highlight the value of the initiative – which, in order to be as far-reaching as possible, will combine on-the-ground awareness-raising activities, a social media presence, partnerships with the media and direct engagement with all stakeholders – is a study conducted prior to its launch by the European Commission on a sample of young Italians aged between 18 and 30, to assess their level of awareness of the issue, the extent to which they were informed about support services and the options available for reporting offences.

The results confirmed the need for prompt action: 36 per cent of those surveyed, in fact, do not know or are unsure whether victims of crime are entitled to effective protection within the European Union, whilst 12 per cent stated that they were unaware of what these rights are.

Not only that: 91 per cent of those surveyed would advise victims to seek professional support services. The campaign also takes a proactive approach on this point, providing a list of specialist organisations to which victims can turn for help.

The regulatory framework

But let’s take a few steps back. Looking at the regulatory framework, victims in the European Union enjoy a wide range of rights: the right to understand and be understood, which requires communication to be simple and comprehensible; the right to information, meaning they must receive all the necessary details regarding support, compensation, restorative justice, protection, how to report offences and access legal aid; the right to receive support, which covers free and tailored support services; the right to participate in criminal proceedings; the right to protection and an individual assessment, which aims to shield them from secondary and recurrent victimisation, intimidation, retaliation and non-pecuniary damage.

Within the framework of the protection afforded by law, the EU Commission’s actions in recent years have been gradual but decisive: in 2012, in fact, the following was adopted the Victims’ Rights Directive, the legislation that finally regulated what had for years been merely ambitions and intentions. In June 2026, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union approved the revision of the legislation (in force from July; Member States have 24 months to transpose it), providing for faster compensation, a free telephone helpline, enhanced protection for minors and special support. These measures are increasingly necessary, particularly in light of the data collected: in Europe, 15 per cent of people are victims of crime and, every year, 22 million European citizens suffer physical assault.