The Victims’ Directive expressly prescribes that access to victim support services must be granted regardless of whether or not the victim decides to make a formal complaint and press charges, although it is generally understood that the competent authorities should encourage reporting (see Recital 63 of the Victims’ Directive).
A tick in brackets indicates only partial confirmation that access to support is not dependent on a complaint having been submitted; for example, it may be necessary for some types of crime (which is the case in Poland, for example) or to receive support from certain support authorities (for example, in Hungary, victim assistance is provided by county-level units of the Victim Support Service of the Office of Public Administration and Justice only if a person is formally recognised—by a certificate from the police—as a victim of a crime). Please note that victims' applying for compensation can necessitate making a complaint; however for the purposes of this table, this does not affect the requirement being deemed to be fulfilled.
Is victim support provision dependent on a victim making complaint to authorities?
Source: FRA, 2014