Putting the child at the centre
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Ensuring an inclusive and child-friendly setup
As the summer is cooling down, PROMISE is heating up. Join us already 13 September at 15:00 CEST for a webinar on putting the child at the centre, where we will discuss ensuring an inclusive and child-friendly setup with a focus on Barnahus Quality Standards 1.2 Right to be heard and to receive information, and 4 Child Friendly Environment. Register here.
The webinar features keynote speakers Ann Lind-Liiberg from the Social Insurance Board of Estonia and Beata Wojtkowska from the Empowering Children Foundation in Poland. Join the webinar to:
- hear about the method and outcome of a consultation with children on their opinion of a service’s setup,
- discuss ways to continually receive and integrate feedback from children, caregivers and professionals,
- learn about the practicalities of planning, decorating and equipping a service.
This webinar is aimed at professionals who are in all stages of preparing, planning, and continually improving Barnahus or similar setups which are providing a multidisciplinary and interagency response to child victims and witnesses of violence. We warmly welcome participants to ask questions and contribute their own experiences in the webinar’s chat feature. Please also feel free to send questions in advance.
Register here. You can check here when the webinar starts in your time zone.
The From 0 to Barnahus webinar series is co-organised with Terre des Hommes, a partner of this project, as part of the ChildHub’s child protection webinar series.
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Spotlight on Barnahus
Quality Standards 1.2 & 4
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Right to be heard and to receive information, and
Child Friendly Environment
Click here to see photos of Barnahus and similar setups.
Standard 1.2: Right to be heard and to receive information
What is the standard?
Children’s rights to express their views and to receive information are respected and fulfilled.
Why should this standard be met?
International legal obligations: Children’s right to participation is one of the general principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). Article 12(2) states that the child should in particular be provided with the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child.
European legal provisions:
• Taking due account of the views of the child
• Provision of information
• Right to interpretation & translation
• Possibility to order that the child victim be heard through the use of appropriate communication technologies
See the Barnahus Quality Standards for examples of how to meet this standard and examples of information material for different target groups.
Standard 4:Child Friendly Environment
What is the standard?
4.1 Place and Accessibility: The Barnahus premises are preferably situated in a detached building located in an environment familiar to children, for example, a residential area. The premises should be accessible by public transport. The premises are accessible, including for children with disabilities and/or special needs.
4.2 Interior Environment: Furnishing and material are child and family friendly and age-appropriate, especially in the waiting rooms. The premises are physically safe for children at all ages and developmental stages, including for children with disabilities and/or special needs.
4.3 Privacy: There are separate, soundproof and private areas available to ensure privacy.
4.4 Preventing contact with the suspected perpetrator: The Barnahus is set up so that contact between victim and alleged offender is avoided at all times.
4.5 Interview room: The Barnahus provides for live observation of interviews in a room other than the interview room for the interagency team.
Why should this standard be met?
European legal provisions:
• Interviews take place in premises designed or adapted for this purpose
• Right to avoid contact between victim and offender
See the Barnahus Quality Standards for examples of how to meet this standard.
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Be sure to download a copy of this 2017 book, which was published by Palgrave Macmillan and edited by Susanna Johansson, Kari Stefansen, Elisiv Bakketeig, and Anna Kaldal.
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 Collaborating Against
Child Abuse
Exploring the
Nordic Barnahus Model
Free to download at this link.
"This edited collection explores the background and implementation of the Nordic Barnahus (or 'Children's House') model – recognised as one of the most important reforms related to children who are the victims of crime in the Nordic region. This book discusses both its potential to affect change and the challenges facing it. The model was introduced as a response to a growing recognition of the need for more integrated and child-centred services for children exposed to violence and sexual abuse. In the Barnahus structure, different professions work together to ensure that victimized children receive help and treatment and that their legal rights are met.
This original study is organised into four broad themes: child-friendliness, support and treatment; the forensic child investigative interview; children’s rights perspectives; and interagency collaboration and professional autonomy. Each themed section includes in-depth chapters from different Nordic countries, outlining and analysing the practice and outcomes of the collaborative work engaged in by Barnahus from different perspectives.
The introductory and concluding chapters offer a comparative lens useful for policy and practice implementation within the Nordic welfare state context and beyond, ensuring this book has global academic and practical appeal."
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Save the Dates for these webinars
- 20 September – Law as one enabling factor for the Barnahus
- 11 October – Courthouse dogs support children to tell their stories
- 18 October – Medical evaluation - A deeper look into Barnahus Quality Standard 7
Registration links coming soon ...
Calendar
Please feel free to add an event to the calendar at this link.
Barnahus Quality Standards – many translations now available
Download the summary of the Barnahus Quality Standards in Bulgarian, Estonian, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Latvian, and Polish at the PROMISE website. More translations coming soon.
If you would like to translate a PROMISE publication into your own language, please contact us to find out about format, accreditation and copyright.
Features for the next newsletters include:
- News from the spring meetings of the PROMISE project
- Media mentions of the Barnahus and the PROMISE partners
- And more! Click here to submit your suggestions.
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This project is funded by the European Union through the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme (2014-2020). The project partnership is responsible for this content.