This document centres on the key themes of the RAN Victims of Terrorism (VoT) Working Group. The discussed topics relate to the following thematic areas:
- supporting victims/survivors of terrorism;
- helping victims/survivors of terrorism to make their voices heard;
- supporting practitioners working with victims/survivors of terrorism;
- assessing how victims/survivors of terrorism can play a role in the prevention and countering of violent extremism (P/CVE).
Victims/survivors of terrorism are the key constituency of the RAN VoT Working Group. This includes all people whose lives have been affected by terrorist attacks, those emotionally or physically injured and those who have lost their loved ones, as well as first responders. Practitioners working with victims/survivors of terrorism are also part of the constituency.
The Working Group was established in 2011 under the name Voices of Victims of Terrorism (VVT); it was then chaired by Guillaume Denoix de Saint Marc (France) and Luca Guglielminetti (Italy). From 2015-2019, María Lozano Alía (Spain) and Cat Wilkinson (Ireland) chaired its successor, the Working Group Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism (RVT). The current Working Group Leaders are Ana Isabel Rodríguez Cordero (Spain) and Philippe Vansteenkiste (Belgium).