Abstract:

The article focuses on the practice of assistance to victims of crime, especially the education and lifelong education of professionals working with this target group. The aim of the research was to find out how helping professionals evaluate their acquired university education, i.e. acquired professional competences, necessary for the practice of helping victims of crime, especially particularly vulnerable victims. A questionnaire survey had been chosen as a research method, and significant institutions providing assistance to victims of crime with activity throughout the Czech Republic were addressed. Assisting professionals evaluated their own education and competences acquired in post-secondary education. Based on the research, the paper reveals how the workers themselves perceive their knowledge, which they need when working with particularly vulnerable victims, whether this knowledge is a sufficient pillar for quality performance of their profession. The findings will be provided to the addressed institutions and educators in the field of helping professions for further use in practice. The submitted research investigation is one of the partial objectives of a larger research study.

Keywords:

Competences, higher education, lifelong learning, social work, crime victims.