Being accompanied

The different support systems

Support from victim assistance associations

Associations and discussion groups

Support from the Victims' Guarantee Fund

Forensic medicine at the service of victims

Support from victim assistance associations

You are experiencing a traumatic event. Your mental and physical health may be shaken. This event may also have consequences on other aspects of your life (employment, schooling, administrative procedures, finances, etc.).

You can be helped and supported by a network of associations. The professionals (lawyers, social workers, psychologists) of these associations offer free, personalized, local support. They can provide you with psychological support, inform you about your rights and possible compensation. But they can also assist you and accompany you throughout your steps and the legal procedure if you need to file a complaint.

Some associations deal with all situations and others are more specialized:

Retrouvez plus de 200 associations dans l’annuaire d’aide aux victimes agréés par le ministère de la Justice, et sur le site de la Fédération France Victimes.

Victims' associations

Some associations, non-professional this time, gather victims and their relatives. They are places where people who are confronted with the same experiences can find support and listening. Some associations are authorized to constitute civil parties during the trials.

Discussion groups

There are also discussion groups, often attached to associations or medical-social establishments, whose accompaniment guarantees a secure and benevolent framework. It is important to be well informed about the associations you contact to protect yourself from swindlers and malicious people. Do not hesitate to consult the Miviludes website.

Accompany

Find out about the various victim assistance programs.

Support from the Victims' Guarantee Fund

Compensation is a right: it is a recognition of the prejudice suffered by the victim (physical and psychological suffering, possible after-effects and financial consequences, etc.) in addition to medical and social assistance. Compensation is a means to allow the victim to resume his or her life as best as possible and thus help him or her rebuild.

In France, the Guarantee Fund for VictimsIn France, the Fonds de Garantie des victimes de l'acte de terrorisme (FGVT), a public service organization created by law and placed under the control of the State, assumes responsibility for victims' losses of acts of terrorism, criminal offences and traffic accidents when the perpetrator is not insured or identified.

To learn more, visit activity reportand find all the testimonial videos on the Youtube channel.

In March 2022, the Victims' Guarantee Fund and the Cn2r have joined forces to reinforce the treatment of victims' psychological injuries.

Forensic medicine at the service of victims

Forensic medicine is an indispensable tool to assist police and judicial investigations for the benefit of victims.

Forensic medical procedures are carried out at the request of the public prosecutor or a judicial police officer (or by order of an investigating judge).

They can be part of thanatology, i.e. the study of death (forensic autopsy, body examinations, removal of the body) and are then carried out by the Forensic Institute (IML ).

They can also be part of the forensic medicine of the living (examination of the victims in order to establish injuries, physical or psychological trauma...) and they are carried out by the Medico-Judicial Unit (UMJ ).

Forensic medicine is mainly practiced in health establishments. Thus, with the exception of the Paris forensic medical institute and the criminal research institute of the national gendarmerie (IRCGN), placed under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior, there are dedicated forensic medicine structures (UMJ) throughout the country.