Your way through the OEG

Cooperation project - Retrospective data analysis of an anonymous online survey initiated and independently conducted by victims on the application and authorisation procedure under the Victims Compensation Act (OEG) for victims of violence

OEG, SGB XIV, SER, Victims Compensation Act, social compensation law, participation of victims, victims of violence

• Prof. Dr Jörg M. Fegert, Medical Director of the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy (KJP) at Ulm University Hospital
• Junior Professor Dr Dipl.-Psych. Miriam Rassenhofer, Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy (KJP), Ulm University Hospital

Project co-worker:

• M.Sc. Isabella Flatten-Whitehead (research assistant and doctoral student, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy (KJP), Ulm University Hospital

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• Mrs Rapunzel (pseudonym; author of the survey, cooperation partner)
• Mrs Gudrun Stifter (cooperation partner)
• Mr Ingo Fock (gegen-missbrauch e.V., cooperation partner, financing of the survey and domain)

August 2023 - May 2025

Project background

Anyone who is the victim of a violent offence has the opportunity to apply for victim compensation under the Victims Compensation Act (OEG). There are a variety of compensation options under the OEG, e.g. medical and health treatment, including outpatient psychotherapy, pension and care allowances, welfare benefits, care allowance or funeral and death benefits. Victims of violent offences are confronted with various challenges, hurdles and grievances during the application and assessment process. Based on her own experience, the author, herself a victim of violence, independently designed an online survey. The victims of violence participating in the online survey are asked anonymously about their experiences in the context of their OEG application. The online survey has been published on the QUESTIONSTAR survey platform since April 2023, is administered independently by the author and financed by the Betroffenenverein gegen-missbrauch e.V. association. The aim of the online survey is to record grievances in the context of the application process from the perspective of those affected and thus identify the need for reform.

Project description

As part of the cooperation project, the Social Compensation Law Research Group of the Clinic for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychotherapy at Ulm University Hospital is supporting the project initiated by those affected by means of retrospective data analysis and processing of the results. This project is a scientific post-hoc evaluation of an online survey initiated and conducted by affected persons, which, according to an expertise on the participation of affected persons in frequency studies on sexual violence, is a novelty in the participation of affected persons (Kölch et al., 2021). The aim of this research project is to demonstrate the feasibility of victim-initiated research in cooperation with a scientific working group in order to facilitate future research projects by victims.

The aim of the project is the methodically correct, scientific evaluation and utilisation of the data collected as part of the online survey initiated by those affected. In addition, a scientific contribution is to be made to the need for reform in social compensation law and hurdles in the application process. Various publications of the analysed data are planned: On the one hand, fact sheets on various key topics are to be produced. On the one hand, fact sheets are to be produced on various key topics. These are to be used in particular for public relations work and political activities by those affected and will be available to them. On the other hand, publications in specialist journals are planned by the research team on the key topics.

gegen-missbrauch e.V. finances the online survey on the survey platform

QUESTIONSTAR and the domain for the homepage of the online survey for the author