Benefits via the Socialcompensation Law

Anyone who is injured by an intentional act of violence on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany and suffers a health impairment as a result can claim social compensation under the Socialcompensation Law. This also applies to relatives, surviving dependants and close relatives of injured persons. Foreigners are also entitled to social compensation.

The aim is to compensate for the health and economic consequences of such acts.

An act of violence is an intentional, unlawful, physical attack directly directed against oneself (physical act of violence) or other intentional, unlawful, serious conduct directly directed against a person's free will (psychological act of violence).

This also includes sexual offenses, human trafficking, stalking, hostage-taking and extortion.

The following are also considered assaults:

• the intentional delivery of poison,
• the misdirection of the act of violence so that it affects a person other than the person against whom it was directed,
• an attack in the mistaken assumption that a justification exists,
• the at least negligent causing of a danger to the life and limb of another person by means of a crime committed by dangerous means,
• the significant neglect of children and
• the production, distribution and making available to the public of child pornography

Exception: If the act of violence was a terrorist attack, an application for hardship benefits for victims of extremist/terrorist crimes can be submitted to the Federal Office of Justice.

In addition to persons who have been directly injured by an act of violence, relatives, surviving dependants and close relatives of injured parties can also receive benefits under the OEG.

Directly injured parties: Persons who have suffered damage to their health as a result of an intentional, unlawful assault or by defending themselves against it. This also includes persons who suffer so-called shock damage as a result of witnessing the crime.

Relatives: Relatives of victims who were not present at the crime but have a close personal or family relationship with the victim.

Survivors: If the injured person dies, certain close relatives are entitled to survivors' benefits regardless of their own injury.

Close relatives: This refers to people who have a particularly close relationship with the injured person, e.g. people who live with the injured person in a long-term cohabitation similar to a marriage or registered civil partnership.

In the event of acts of violence in Germany, a monthly compensation payment is made for all resulting physical and mental health impairments. There are also benefits for the economic consequences of this damage to health.

These include in particular:

• medical and dental treatment
• hospital treatment
• psychotherapy
• Medical rehabilitation services
• Provision of aids (e.g. prostheses, dentures, wheelchairs)
• Benefits for participation in working life, education and social affairs
• Special benefits in individual cases
• Occupational injury compensation
• Funeral and death benefits
• Compensation for hardship

Compensation benefits are also available for acts of violence abroad, albeit to a lesser extent.

The application for compensation can be submitted as follows:

• informally or
• using forms from the state pension authorities or
• using the standardized federal application form

In the case of an act of violence in Germany, those affected can submit the application to the pension authority of the federal state in which the act took place.

If the act of violence took place abroad, the pension authority of the federal state in which the victim resides is responsible.

In principle, an application for social compensation can also be submitted to any other social welfare authority, which will then forward it to the competent authority. However, submitting the application to the competent authority avoids delays due to the forwarding of the application or because responsibility still needs to be clarified.

There is no application deadline. However, benefits are generally only paid from the time the application is submitted.

It is not necessary to wait for the outcome of an investigation or criminal proceedings before making an application.

If the application is submitted within one year of the injury (or one year after the end of the incapacity if the person is prevented from submitting the application through no fault of their own), benefits must also be granted for the period before the application was submitted.

After the application, it is checked whether the facts justifying the claim for benefits under social compensation law are present.  In some cases, it is difficult to prove that the act of violence is the main cause of the illness. This is often done through medical or psychological reports. In addition, there must be no grounds for refusal, i.e. the victim must actively support the investigation of the crime and must not have contributed to the crime.

The processing time for an application depends on the individual case.

To protect victims of a violent crime in European countries, the EU-Directive 2004/80/EC was passed relating to compensation of crime victims in cross-border situations. It obliges all EU Member States to put in place fair and appropriate national schemes on compensation to victims of violent crimes committed in their respective territories.

The German assisting authority – the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs – assists those in asserting their applications for compensation in the EU Member State in which they suffered the damage

This especially includes:

• providing victims with information about how to apply for compensation abroad, including about the procedure in the other country, time limits for filing the application, conditions of entitlement and any documentary evidence required,
•  providing application forms issued by the Member State in which the damage occurred,
• finding out which authority will decide on the application for compensation in the other Member State,
• passing the application for compensation on to the deciding authority in the other Member State together with the documentary evidence submitted,
• having documents and correspondence translated into the relevant language free of charge,
• assisting applicants and keeping them up to date throughout all the stages of the compensation procedure

EU Member States make their decisions on such applications on the basis of their own national legislation. The statutory regulations on compensation in most other Member States of the EU are not as wide-ranging as those in Germany.

The German assisting authority has neither influence on the proceedings in the other Member State nor on the decisions taken.

Victims who file an application under the German Crime Victims' Compensation Act in parallel should note the following:

If the foreign state pays compensation, this is credited against any compensation awarded under the Crime Victims' Compensation Act. That is why it is important for victims to cooperate with the German assisting authority.

If an application for compensation has already been submitted under the German Crime Victims' Compensation Act, the German assisting authority will be informed of that fact. It will then contact the applicant.

The German assisting authority can be contacted at the following address:

Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
Division SER 2
Rochusstraße 1
D-53123 Bonn
Tel.: +49 228 99527 - 0
Fax: +49 228 99527 - 4134
Email: DUB@bmas.bund.de

For welfare reasons, SGB XIV also includes benefits for Germans and people living in Germany who are victims of violence abroad and suffer damage to their health as a result, as well as their relatives and surviving dependants. These benefits are limited compared to the standard benefits under SGB XIV. Anyone living in Germany who is the victim of violence during a temporary stay abroad (max. 6 months, max. 1 year in the case of an educational stay) can receive benefits under SGB XIV:

• Rapid assistance benefits that are provided in Germany
• Health treatment benefits, which are generally also provided in Germany
• a one-off payment of between 2600 and 28600 euros.

A stay abroad is considered temporary if it is for less than six months or, in the case of school attendance or studies, for no more than one year. Surviving dependants receive a one-off payment of between 2600 and 7800 euros.   Benefits from other security and pension schemes are deducted from the above amounts. Relatives and surviving dependants are also entitled to benefits from the Rapid Assistance Scheme, which is provided in Germany. In addition, repatriation and funeral costs are reimbursed.

People who are not German citizens are also entitled to the same benefits under SGB XIV as German citizens. This applies to both EU citizens and citizens of third countries, even if they have only been in Germany for a short time. Residence status and length of stay in Germany have no effect on the type and scope of benefits.

If a person was harmed on a German sea vessel or aircraft the same rules as for mainland Germany apply. Additionally, foreign sea vessels in German coastal waters, on German rivers or in German harbors are seen as in German territory by the law. This also applies to aircrafts and motor vehicles which are in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany.