Recent Developments in the Hungarian State Victim Support System

Absztrakt

The article explores the victim support activities of the Hungarian police and the Victim Support Centers both from an institutional point of view and the added value of their services, and how they cooperate with the Victim Support Offices. In addition, the operation of the newly introduced opt-out scheme will also be analyzed. Consequently, the article aims to predict the final organizational structure and the division of functions between the different state actors of the Hungarian victim support system, the reconstruction of which, is currently coming to an end. The article is based on empirical and qualitative research focusing on the Hungarian legislative framework for victim support, utilizing interviews conducted with professionals working in the state victim support system in an attempt to map out the institutional relations and added value provided by the state actors in Hungarian victim support meanwhile shedding light on the long-lasting shortcomings of the system and analyzing how the recent developments addressed them.