"""When the attack happened that night I was in such a panic and I didn’t know where I was going. I couldn’t text, I didn’t have a number, I didn’t know who to contact. I was going to go into town to the Garda station, but luckily enough I stopped and the man followed me and he was able to phone. I explained to the guards when they arrived on the scene that I’m Deaf so they wrote down the information but I actually could not use the pen because I was so petrified. It was very hard to communicate with the guard but there was a bean-garda, (a female guard), who was very easy to lipread, so I found it easier to communicate with her.""CONTEXTWe can become a socially inclusive society by protecting the rights of marginalised groups such as women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence. Resolution 2159(2017) of the Parliamentary Assembly on protecting refugee women and girls from gender-based violence; the Council of Europe’s Gender Equality Strategy 2018-2023; the Victim’s Directive enshrine the principles of equity, equality and empowerment.In JUSTISIGNS 2 we focus on two key factors. These are: the language(s) and culture of the non-native language users (NNLUs). In JUSTISIGNS 2, we focus on Deaf Sign language users, migrants, refugee and asylum-seeking women and girls. However, we do not set out to exclude, nor ignore men and boys who fall victim to gender-based violence. We include the Deaf community as a marginalised group in society which historically has experienced social exclusion in all walks of life. Data suggests that Deaf people are 2-3 times more likely to suffer abuse (sexual, emotional, physical) than their hearing peers, and 2 - 4 times more likely to experience clinically significant emotional distress. We emphasise that the Deaf community is classified as a linguistic and cultural minority, rather than being classified as a disability group.OBJECTIVEJUSTISIGNS 2 responds to the obligations of the EU Directive 2012/29, also known as the Victims' Directive, this proposal is aimed at reducing the disparity that exists within society, by developing education and training solutions for professionals who support victims of violence and crime and in particular women who are victims of gender-based violence. THE PROBLEMChallenges in accessing services in the legal, medical, educational & political sphere have just begun to be documented following from work on EU funded projects like MEDISIGNS & JUSTISIGNS sometimes predicated on problematic policy measures or the quality of interpretation provided. When accessing the legal structures - research from the JUSTISIGNS project (upon which this application is modelled REF: http://www.justisigns.com/downloads/report2016.pdf) has demonstrated that member states' approaches to dealing with the deaf people when engaging with the justice systems is largely ad hoc. Findings show that police forces, by and large - do not take a uniform approach to applying policies. Many senior ranking police have little to no knowledge of working in interpreted settings, and many confirmed that they were not aware of the legal ramifications of such lack of awareness among their own forces. This fundamental awareness relates to basic communication skills, the ""reading"" of rights (or police cautioning), or even the most basic of tasks such as booking an (sign language) interpreter and verifying their qualification. ACTIVITIES- A Review of the literature and data- training course for multi-agency actors who support victims- training course for interpreters who practice in situations of gender-based violence and crime- Series of tool kits & training resources for victim support professionals- Training workshops, Town Hall meetings and masterclassesWHO ARE WE TARGETING?-Police forces with competence in gender violence (National Police, Civil Guards, Regional & Local police)-Court staff (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court administrative staff, forensic doctors, forensic psychologists, etc.)-Health staff (doctors, nurses, etc.)-Psychologists-Social workers-Staff of NGOs and Associations that help victims/survivors-Other front line support interlocutors and agents.-Sign language and spoken language interpreters-Victims and survivors of GBV who participate in the project as volunteers to share experiences"

PROTAX will contribute to a European Security Model providing solutions for prevention and prosecution of tax crimes. Based on analysis of current approaches of law enforcement, legal frameworks at Member State level and in-depth empirical investigation of human factors, shaping institutional and professional practices of stakeholders PROTAX will develop in close co-operation with practitioners tool kits for security policy makers, law enforcement agencies and tax authorities. They will combine high use-value with a strong European perspective, paving the way towards an integrated European approach. Since serious and organised tax crimes often involve cross-border activities, requiring cooperation across national jurisdictions a shared understanding of risks, threats and security measures will improve European law enforcement practices. PROTAX will produce innovative solutions boosting evolutionary development towards a genuine and sustainable European approach, significantly reducing the damages for European societies caused by criminals in the financial sector. PROTAX adopts a five-pronged approach. 1. We use case studies of tax crimes to investigate the roles of various actors. 2. We conduct focus groups with stakeholders in Member States. 3. We focus on the role of professional enablers as facilitators allowing illicit financial flows through legitimate institutions. 4.We map out various legal and enforcement approaches across the EU. 5. We make recommendations and provide a toolkit improving prevention of tax crimes and enforcement of the law. PROTAX will involve experts from LEAs and tax authorities in structured exchanges to share experience and ideas. A focus will be on cross-border aspects, assuming that tax crimes spread from “source countries” across the EU (e.g., to tax havens). PROTAX guidelines and toolkits will consider standards of data protection, privacy and social acceptability.

There is widespread agreement across police authorities, policy makers and the academic community that the video gaming ecosystem plays a substantial role in the process of radicalization. However as yet there is no compelling evidence base to understand how the process takes place, or the best measures to prevent the radicalization process. Games as a Multi-layered Security Threat (GEMS) is an interdisciplinary, mixed-method and cross-sectoral project bringing together academic researchers, AI specialists, policy experts and a range of police authorities from across Europe in order to address this challenge. Co-creation of knowledge with a comprehensive end-user engagement is the fundamental principle of GEMS. The main aims of GEMS are: 1) to contribute to a scientific advancement of the field of radicalisation and violent extremism by developing a new academic field of Sociology of Gaming and Radicalisation; 2) to provide EPAs with a novel Training Curriculum and an innovative tool, the Watchtower (a future-proof AI platform trained to recognise and prevent the spread of extremist content and recruitment in the online gaming space); 3) to create a new cross-sectoral collaborative network dedicated to countering extremist presence in the gaming ecosystem – European Networks Against Gaming-Related Extremism (ENgaGE); and 4) to develop an effective Citizens Awareness Campaign and evidence-based Policy Solutions which will greatly improve high level decision making, empower citizens and enhance youth protection. These aims will significantly contribute to the fight against the rapid spread of extremism in the online gaming spaces and lead to a secure cyberspace.