On 27 May 2025, key national stakeholders as well as leading international and national experts gathered in Zagreb for the Second Roundtable of the Joint European Union–Council of Europe Project "Implementing the Barnahus Model in Croatia". The event marked a significant milestone in Croatia's efforts to strengthen child protection and ensure child-friendly justice for victims of sexual violence.

During the roundtable, key deliverables developed under the project were presented and discussed with more than 70 stakeholders. These included:

• Roadmap and Cost Structure Analysis;
• Report on Procedures and Protocols supporting an inter-agency agreement between Croatian authorities, including a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU); and 
• Survey on Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse in Croatia.

Opening remarks were delivered by Ana Kordej, Acting Director at the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation; Rima Joujou, Resident Country Coordinator at the European Commission, SG REFORM; and Zaruhi Gasparyan, Head of the Council of Europe's Cooperation and Capacity Building Unit of the Children’s Rights Division.

In a first panel, Ivana Celio Cega, Human Rights Independent Expert, introduced the report on procedures and protocols to support cooperation among Croatian ministries and institutions which included a draft Memorandum of Understanding on implementing the Barnahus Model in Croatia to be signed by high level representatives of all agencies involved in the future Barnahus.

In the second morning panel, participants exchanged with the international experts, Liisa Järvilehto and Tom Pakkanen from the Helsinki Barnahus, who developed the proposed roadmap and cost analysis structure for establishing at least four Barnahus units across Croatia — one central hub in Zagreb and three regional centres. This strategic document was developed in close cooperation with the members of the project Advisory Group representing all the agencies involved in the future Barnahus.

Later, experts from Ipsos Croatia — Tatjana Petrović, Lana Penezić, and Mirna Cvitan — shared the findings of a national survey that gauged public understanding and attitudes toward child sexual abuse. The results will inform future awareness campaigns and communication strategies in Croatia.
Closing remarks emphasised the importance of sustained cooperation between government bodies, civil society, and international partners. Representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, the European Commission, and the Council of Europe highlighted the next steps, including the preparation of a Change Management Plan to ensure the sustainable rollout of the Barnahus model across Croatia, the development of training activities and guidelines on the spatial organisation of the Barnahus units.

The project, co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and co-funded and implemented by the Council of Europe in close cooperation with the Croatian Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, is a crucial initiative to offer children of Croatia comprehensive, child-centred services under one roof — a model already successfully adopted by several European countries.

The roundtable concluded with a restricted session for the members of the project Advisory Group focusing on change management plan.

 Programme (in Croatian and in English)

​​ Roadmap and Cost Structure Analysis  (available in Croatian and in English)

 Presentation: Roadmap and Cost Structure Analysis for Barnahus Implementation

 Report on Procedures and Protocols supporting an inter-agency agreement between Croatian authorities including a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)  (available in Croatian and in English) 

 Presentation: Procedures and Protocols for Barnahus – Memorandum of Understanding (in Croatian and in English)

 Survey on Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse in Croatia (available in Croatian and in English)

 Presentation: Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse in Croatia (available in Croatian)