Apply for compensation for victims of violence
It can consist of
- Counselling through case management
- Psychotherapeutic early intervention in a trauma outpatient clinic
- Medical treatment: for example, outpatient and inpatient treatment, dental treatment and dentures, remedies and aids
- Benefits for participation, for example benefits for participation in working life, benefits for social participation
- Benefits for the need for long-term care
- Benefits to compensate for the economic consequences, for example
- Compensation payments, occupational injury compensation
- Compensation payments to surviving dependants
- Reimbursement of costs for repatriation and burial
The amount depends on the individual case.
Responsible authority
the district office in whose district you or the surviving dependants have your place of residence or habitual abode
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
- You have been the victim of an intentional, unlawful assault such as a robbery or rape or you have lawfully defended yourself against such an attack. Since June 2021, this also includes attacks by the use of a motor vehicle or trailer.
- The attack took place in Germany.
- You have suffered damage to your health as a result.
- Foreign nationals have the same claims as Germans.
Note: As a victim of violent offences committed outside the Federal Republic of Germany, you can receive limited benefits under certain conditions.
You are not entitled to compensation if
- You as the victim have caused the injury in a reproachable manner or
- it would be unfair to grant compensation for reasons relating to your own behaviour.
Procedure
You can submit the application in writing or verbally. The competent body will clarify the facts of the case on its own initiative. You are obliged to co-operate in the clarification.
The competent body may
- Hear information persons and experts,
- consult medical documents, findings and the like,
- Obtain expert opinions and official information and
- Obtain documents or instruct the parties involved to submit or provide them.
Once the assessment has been completed, you will receive a decision in which the competent body explains whether you will receive benefits and, if so, which benefits you will receive.
As a rule, you will receive the benefits retroactively from the date of your application.
Deadlines
You can submit the application at any time. If you submit the application within one year of the violent offence, you can also receive benefits for the period before the application was submitted.
Required documents
- as a rule: none
Note: You can support the procedure by enclosing existing documents (e.g. criminal judgement, medical documents) with your application or submitting them later.
Costs
none
Processing time
On average: eight months
It can be longer depending on the individual case. This is the case, for example, if the violent offence took place many years ago and evidence is difficult to obtain or the medical assessment is difficult.
Miscellaneous
none
Legal basis
Sozialgesetzbuch - Erstes Buch (SGB I)
Sozialgesetzbuch - Zehntes Buch (SGB X)
Sozialgesetzbuch - Vierzehntes Buch (SGB XIV) - Soziale Entschädigung
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg, 03.04.2025