White ring

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WHITE RING
logo
legal form Registered association
founding September 24, 1976
founder Eduard Zimmermann u. A.
Seat Mainz
Chair Jörg Ziercke
Managing directors Bianca Biwer
sales 21,529,797 euros (2018)
Employees 109 (2018)
Volunteers 2864 (2018)
Members 45,991 (2018)
Website weisser-ring.de

Weißer Ring (full association name in Germany WEISSER RING - non-profit association for the support of crime victims and for the prevention of criminal offenses ) is an independent aid organization for crime victims and their families that is active in several European countries .

structure

The association was founded in Germany in 1976 by the television journalist Eduard Zimmermann in Mainz , where he is based and entered in the association register. The association has around 3,000 volunteers and 45,000 members in Germany . There are 400 branch offices in 18 regional associations. The former President of the Federal Criminal Police Office Jörg Ziercke has been Federal Chairman since September 2018 . Bianca Biwer, a lawyer, has been in charge of management since October 2013.

The association is financed through membership fees, donations , foundations , bequests and the allocation of fines. He does not use any public grants.

Regional associations
  • Baden-Württemberg
  • Bavaria North
  • Bavaria-South
  • Berlin
  • Brandenburg
  • Bremen
  • Hamburg
  • Hesse
  • Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
  • Lower Saxony
  • NRW / Westphalia-Lippe
  • North Rhine-Westphalia / Rhineland ( Bernd König , Senior Senior Public Prosecutor a. D.)
  • Rhineland-Palatinate
  • Saarland
  • Saxony
  • Saxony-Anhalt
  • Schleswig-Holstein
  • Thuringia

aims

Victim assistance

People who need help after a crime can turn to one of more than 400 contact points that are available nationwide. Around 3,000 volunteers who have acquired special training and qualifications as victim helpers work there. They work according to the standards of victim assistance developed by the association. The assistance is free of charge and can also be provided anonymously if desired.

The White Ring can help crime victims in the following ways, for example:

  • personal care and human assistance after a crime
  • Accompaniment to appointments with the police, public prosecutor, court or other authorities
  • general assistance in dealing with authorities
  • Mediation of help from other agencies
  • Cash donations in the form of a help check for an initial legal consultation, an initial psychotraumatological consultation or a forensic medical examination check
  • financial support to bridge emergency situations caused by crime

Crime prevention

Parking lot with warning signs of the white ring against theft from the car

The association supports the idea of ​​prevention. He

  • disseminates topics of crime prevention via posters, videos, lectures and brochures ,
  • gives tips on how to protect against crime in cooperation with government agencies,
  • illuminates research results and discusses relevant books,
  • shows important addresses for prevention.

He also supports nationwide prevention projects such as the Konstanzer Puppenbühne in the play "Pfoten weg!", Which educates children about sexual abuse, and digital initiatives such as the Juuuport platform on cyberbullying .

In total, the White Ring has made more than 32 million euros available so far for its statutory goal of “prevention”.

Support for damage reparation projects and perpetrator-victim compensation

The association fights for greater social awareness of the situation of the victims and has so far used more than 45 million euros for public advocacy for victim concerns. The White Ring demands that politics, justice and administration improve the legal and social situation of crime victims and their relatives. In detail:

A legal anchoring of the information obligation on victim rights and claims
In many cases, those affected only learn of their rights through the White Ring. Only ten percent apply for victim compensation. The Victims Compensation Act, introduced in 1976, is partially unknown even to lawyers .
A victim attorney at state expense
This important protection of the personal rights of the injured party has so far been limited to attempted and completed homicides and sexual offenses .
Sufficient victim protection in proceedings against young people
At present, injured parties are not entitled to a victim's lawyer if the perpetrator falls under youth criminal law.
Damage reparation
According to current law, the victims of a juvenile offender have no way of asserting their claims for damages or compensation for pain and suffering in criminal proceedings. In the opinion of the White Ring and others, the approval of the adhesion process in proceedings against young people is overdue. It is precisely the reparation of damage that serves the educational concept and is suitable for promoting a sense of responsibility among young offenders. Confronting the juvenile offender with the damage done would even have a high educational value if he realized that it was not enough to receive a guilty verdict, but that he had to make amends with his victim.

Victim phone and online counseling

Victims of crime and interested parties can contact them by phone or request information about the help of the White Ring. Voluntary members of the 400 locally responsible branch offices take on further support. The free victim telephone can be reached in Germany on 116 006. Since 2016, online advice by currently 37 trained online consultants has been offered on the association's website. If necessary, victims are referred to one of the branch offices or to other help services.

Those affected can be helped by:

  • Human assistance and personal care after the offense
  • Accompaniment to appointments with the police , public prosecutor's office and court
  • Assistance in dealing with the authorities
  • Mediation of help from other agencies
  • Aid checks for an initial consultation free of charge for the victim, freely selectable legal and psychotraumatological initial consultation as well as for a forensic medical examination
  • Assumption of legal fees, in particular to safeguard victim protection rights in criminal proceedings (victim attorney) and to enforce claims under the Victims Compensation Act (OEG)
  • Recovery measures for victims and their families in certain cases
  • Financial support to bridge emergency situations related to the crime

The White Ring has now provided human and immaterial aid to more than 200,000 crime victims and their families. It can also help needy victims and their families through financial support to bridge emergency situations caused by the crime and has so far provided more than 142 million euros for victim support measures, including direct material aid.

The White Ring also uses some social media channels to provide information about the work of the association and its help and support options.

The crime scene actor Oliver Mommsen and Ulrike Folkerts also TV lawyer Ingo Lenßen and actor Steffen Schroeder , tom wlaschiha and Ralf Moeller support the association.

Emergency aid
After the rampage in Münster , the White Ring looked after over 50 victims, relatives and traumatized eyewitnesses. Affected people from Germany, the Netherlands, England and South Africa were paid around 25,000 euros in emergency aid for travel, accommodation, hospital parking or lost wages.
NO STALK - diary app
The Weißer Ring Foundation has developed an app for documenting acts of stalking (photos, videos, WhatsApp, voice messages, SMS) on the smartphone so that those affected can successfully take legal action against stalkers. At the Google.org Impact Challenge, the first funding stage with EUR 250,000 was reached in May 2018. The app has been available in stores for Apple and Android smartphones since May 2019.

Crime Victims Day and Pro-Victim Day

The Day of Victims of Crime , launched by the White Ring on March 22nd of each year, commemorates the situation of people harmed by crime and violence who depend on protection, practical help and solidarity from society. In cooperation with Heinz-Leo Holten, head of the criminal justice department in the Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia , the victim protection expert group and the pro-victim day were created.

Other countries

Following the example of the German association, independent organizations have also been founded in other European countries to support victims of crime. They work independently of each other.

  • Austria, since 1978
  • Luxembourg, Wäisse Rank , since 1979
  • Hungary, Fehér Gyürü - Közhasznú Egyesület , since 1989
  • Switzerland, Weisser Ring - Anneau blanc - Anello Bianco , since 1984
  • Czech Republic, Bílý kruh bezpečí , since 1991

Others

The branch manager of the White Ring in Lübeck is said to have met three women in 2012 who were in the White Ring's victim support. The now former employee of the White Ring is accused of having sexually harassed women in counseling sessions . In seven cases there is an initial suspicion of a crime. There are a total of 18 reports against the man. The retired police chief inspector has not worked for the White Ring since November 2017 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annual report 2018/2019. (PDF) In: weisser-ring.de. Accessed March 31, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Jörg Ziercke elected as the new federal chairman of the WEISSEN RING, weisser-ring.de, September 15, 2018
  3. ↑ Bianca Biwer new managing director of the Weisses Ring , focus.de, message from October 1, 2013.
  4. ↑ Weisser Ring training. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Standards of victim support. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Help from the association. Retrieved June 6, 2018 .
  7. ^ Andreas Reichelt: Initiative break the silence. Niederbayern TV, June 4, 2020, accessed on June 21, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Konstanzer Puppenbühne - Paws off! Retrieved January 9, 2018 .
  9. ↑ cooperation partner . In: JUUUPORT . July 28, 2017 ( juuuport.de [accessed January 9, 2018]).
  10. ↑ VRM GmbH & Co. KG: Aid organization Weißer Ring is looking for volunteers for its advisory services . ( wiesbadener-kurier.de [accessed on January 9, 2018]).
  11. ↑ Writing victims: One year of online counseling by the White Ring , heise.de, article from August 19, 2017.
  12. ↑ Online advice for crime victims | WHITE RING e. V. Accessed March 10, 2017 .
  13. ↑ WHITE RING. Retrieved March 10, 2017 .
  14. ↑ WHITE RING. Retrieved March 10, 2017 .
  15. ↑ Julian Wessel: How "Soko Leipzig" actor Steffen Schroeder helps a murderer privately . ( Morgenpost.de [accessed on November 17, 2017]).
  16. ↑ Ingo Lenßen - Commitment. Retrieved November 17, 2017 .
  17. ↑ WEISSER RING: Interview with Steffen Schroeder for the WEISSER RING. March 21, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017 .
  18. ↑ WEISSER RING: Interview with Steffen Schroeder for the WEISSER RING. March 21, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017 .
  19. ↑ dpa: Actor Tom Wlaschiha warns of knockout drops . In: Westfälische Nachrichten . ( wn.de [accessed on November 17, 2017]).
  20. ↑ Ralf Moeller: Men, get help against violence . In: www.t-online.de . ( t-online.de [accessed on November 17, 2017]).
  21. ↑ Those affected have already received around 25,000 euros in emergency aid. Retrieved May 24, 2018 .
  22. ↑ NO STALK - diary app. Retrieved May 24, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Support stalking victims with your voice! Retrieved May 24, 2018 .
  24. ↑ WEISSER RING Foundation reaches final of "Google.org Impact Challenge" with stalking app - vote! Retrieved May 24, 2018 .
  25. ↑ Weißer Ring Affair: Warnings 2012 ignored? Retrieved May 24, 2018 .
  26. ↑ Public prosecutors examine possible police failure. Retrieved May 24, 2018 .
  27. ↑ Women's emergency number is said to have prevented criminal charges. Retrieved May 24, 2018 .