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What is the VSA (LAVI)?
“VSA” is the acronym for the Federal Act on Support for the Victims of Crime.
The purpose of the VSA (LAVI in French) is to provide support and reparation to persons who have been victims of a criminal offence affecting their physical, psychological and/or sexual integrity, as well as to their relatives, and to strengthen their rights in criminal proceedings.
Purpose of the VSA (LAVI)
The LAVI Centre Geneva
The Geneva Counselling Centre for Victims of Crime (LAVI Centre) provides victims of criminal offences or their relatives, either directly or by calling on third parties, with psychological, legal, social, medical or material assistance. Our consultations are free of charge and strictly confidential. It is NOT necessary to have reported the offence or filed a complaint, nor to intend to do so, in order to consult us.
WHAT WE OFFER YOU:
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We support you on a psychological, legal and social level.
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We provide you with information in the various areas relating to victim support, on your rights and on the course of criminal proceedings.
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We help you to consider the different possible solutions, according to your situation and your needs.
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We assist you with certain steps related to the offence suffered.
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Depending on your situation, we put you in contact with the professional support network or refer you to specialised services.
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If you decide to file a complaint and depending on your needs, we support you throughout the criminal proceedings, in particular during hearings before the criminal authorities, where we may accompany you as a person of trust. We may also support your steps with the VSA compensation authority.
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We may grant you financial assistance to cover certain costs directly related to the offence, depending on your situation and your needs.
Our services
Our status
The Geneva LAVI Counselling Centre is a private association, subsidised by the State.
The association’s committee is in particular competent to decide on applications for longer-term assistance. It is composed of the following persons:
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Béatrice HIRSCH, President, Nurse, Former Deputy Mayor of Troinex
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Nadège DERGALENKO, Vice-President, Head of Social Services, Hospice général
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Élisabeth CHATELAIN, Treasurer. Former Member of the Grand Council
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Khaled ADLY, Group Leader, Child Protection Service
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Béatrice CORTELLINI, Director of the AVVEC association
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Emmanuel ESCARD, Deputy Doctor, Head of the Interdisciplinary Unit for Medicine and Prevention of Violence of the HUG
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Marie-Claire KUNZ, Lawyer at the Protestant Social Centre
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Nathalie PICCO, Deputy Director of the Protestant Office for Marital and Family Counselling
Who are we?
VSA (LAVI) financial assistance
In addition to the assistance provided through our consultations, we may grant you financial benefits, depending on the harm suffered and your situation.
Our financial assistance is intended to cover costs that are directly related to the offence. It mainly consists, subsidiarily to any competent third parties (insurance, etc.), in covering expenses related to your protection and your recovery, as well as interpretation of consultations in a foreign language if you do not understand French:
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Emergency accommodation
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Medical and/or psychotherapeutic care
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Consultation with a lawyer (see below)
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Change of lock
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Financial emergency assistance
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Self-defence courses
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Financial assistance granted as so-called “immediate” assistance, which covers the most urgent, essential needs directly related to the offence
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Legal advice costs*
* We invite lawyers to consult this note (in French), which summarises the main information to be taken into account when they provide the defence of a victim within the meaning of the VSA (LAVI).
Types of financial assistance
Application for longer-term assistance
If necessary, we may provide you with longer-term assistance, which aims to extend our financial contribution to the costs generated by the offence.
This support may last until your state of health has stabilised (including psychologically) and until the other consequences of the offence have, as far as possible, been overcome or compensated for.
In this context, your financial situation, as well as that of the persons living in your household, will be taken into account in order to calculate the amount financed by the LAVI Centre.
In order to request the coverage of costs under longer-term assistance, depending on whether these are legal costs, medical or psychotherapeutic costs or other costs, you must complete one of the forms below, which gather the data necessary for examining the conditions for granting assistance under the VSA, as precisely and comprehensively as possible.
The data will be treated confidentially.
Please return the completed form, together with all supporting documents, dated and signed, by post or by email to the LAVI Centre.
Download the application form (in French) for coverage of longer-term costs:
Longer-term financial assistance → information and forms (in French)
Compensation and satisfaction
The VSA (LAVI) compensation authority grants, under certain conditions, compensation for costs resulting from the offence that are not covered by third parties and satisfaction for non-pecuniary damage, provided that the harm is sufficiently serious.
WARNING, the time limit for submitting an application is 5 years from the moment when the offence was committed, or until the age of 25 for minor victims of serious offences.
The time limits must be strictly respected. If criminal, civil or administrative proceedings are not yet concluded, it is necessary to write to the authority in order to safeguard the time limit.
The procedure is free of charge.
Your lawyer or the LAVI Centre may assist you in drafting your application. If you apply to the VSA (LAVI) compensation authority with the assistance of your lawyer, ask them to request an extension of the assistance granted by the LAVI Centre. The application must be sent to:
Instance d’indemnisation LAVI
Rue de Lyon 89-91
1203 Genève
Compensation and satisfaction
→ practical information