On 27 April, the main findings of the Inception Report of the joint European Union – Council of Europe project “Support the implementation of the Barnahus project in Ireland” were presented in a webinar.
The report notes that there are undue delays in accessing the justice system for child victims of sexual abuse in Ireland and that children need to testify about traumatic events in a court setting that is not child-friendly, which may lead to re-victimisation. It also highlights ongoing attempts towards improvement, such as the possibility to have an intermediary in the hearing to support the child during the process and help them understand what is being asked of them, and the use of recorded specialist interviews conducted by specialist trained social workers and Gardaí, which have been operational since 2003.
The report also underlines the need for clearer guidelines and training on how to interpret law regarding information and data sharing amongst the agencies involved in the Barnahus system in Ireland. Better guidance on GDPR and data protection would support professionals working in child sexual abuse cases and also decrease delays in court proceedings.
Finally, many participants in the consultations leading to the report stressed the need to update the Good Practice Guidance Interview Protocol for specialist interviewing of children, which dates back to 2003, as well as the Best Practice Guidelines for an Garda Síochána on how to interact with children.
The Inception report offers a preliminary exploration of the views of the different actors involved in the functioning of Barnahus in Ireland and has the goal of informing which areas the EU-Council of Europe project needs to address as a priority in order to support the national Barnahus project in Ireland.
The Inception report has been prepared in close consultation with An Garda Síochána (Police), the Health Service Executive, Tusla (Child Protection Agency), Children’s Health Ireland and the Irish Departments of Justice and Health, and coordinated with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY). A draft of the Inception report was presented iat the project's kick-off meeting on 30 January 2023 in Dublin, after which it received substantive feedback.
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