On 28 September 2023, the Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF) and the Lanzarote Committee (i.e. Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse) hosted a public event to present the main findings and conclusions of a Mapping study on multidisciplinary and interagency child-friendly justice models responding to violence against children in Council of Europe member states. The event took place in Strasbourg and online, and was livestreamed in English and French (see the link to the video recording below).
The data collected for the study show that at least 28 Council of Europe member states have established Barnahus* and/or Barnahus-type services, and five more states are in the process of setting up Barnahus. In about half of the states that do not yet have Barnahus or Barnahus-type services, there is an ongoing public debate and/or state and civil society actors are advocating for Barnahus. These numbers are clear signs of the enthusiasm that surrounds the Barnahus model in Europe, and of its felt positive impact on child victims and witnesses of violence, which has been increasingly evidenced and recognised.
The mapping study, with its in-depth analysis and recommendations, can serve as a useful resource for member states when reflecting on how to establish, strengthen and/or expand Barnahus, Barnahus-type or other child-friendly MD/IA services. In terms of future developments, the mapping study recommends the Council of Europe to consider developing a policy instrument on Barnahus and other MD/IA child-friendly justice services, for instance in the form of a Recommendation by the Committee of Ministers, providing policy and practical guidance to member states on the principles of Barnahus and their application to all contexts where children are in contact with the justice system.
The event also included interventions from representatives of the Council of Europe member states, who shared national experiences of multidisciplinary and interagency structures. The Chairpersons of the CDENF and the Lanzarote Committee presented relevant initiatives on Barnahus.
The study has been prepared by the Children’s Rights Division of the Council of Europe, under Priority 4 of the Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027) thanks to a voluntary contribution by the Icelandic Government. It is part of the Council of Europe’s broader efforts to promote the Barnahus model in order to ensure that the best interests of the child are upheld in investigations and criminal proceedings, and to provide support for child victims and witnesses of sexual and other forms of violence in a child-friendly and safe environment, thus making child-friendly justice a true reality.
* Barnahus is the leading European response model for child sexual abuse that coordinates parallel criminal and child welfare investigations, brings all relevant services under one roof, and thus helps avoid secondary victimisation of the child.
The Barnahus model was first launched in Europe in Iceland in 1998. In 2015, the Council of Europe’s Committee of the parties to the convention on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse (Lanzarote Convention) has recognised the model as a promising practice, and since then, the Council of Europe has been supporting its member states in adapting and using it. With the Council of Europe and EU support, the first Children’s House facility was opened in May 2022 in Slovenia. Similar joint projects in Croatia, Finland, Ireland and Spain are ongoing.
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