What is the project?

The European Union-Council of Europe Joint Project “Implementing the Barnahus Model in Croatia” aims to improve the access and quality of the justice system for child victims and witnesses of violence in Croatia, to ensure that undue delays in the treatment of such cases are diminished, and that all children who are victims and witnesses of sexual violence benefit from a child-friendly access to justice.

The implementation of the legislative framework concerning protection of child victims and witnesses of criminal offences remains challenging in Croatia, especially regarding the number of examinations/interviews before and during the criminal proceedings. Since the adoption of the Criminal Procedure Act in 2008, pre-recorded interviews are used in Croatia, and the Croatian National Plan for Combating Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment 2022-2027 has a specific Measure 2.6 “Improving care and ensuring the availability of support services for victims of sexual offenses”. Building on the work already carried out by Croatia, the project aims to support the Croatian authorities in their first steps towards the establishment of a Barnahus in the country.

The project is co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in co-operation with the European Commission. It is implemented by the Council of Europe’s Children's Rights Division in close co-operation with the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation of Croatia, from 1 September 2023 to 30 June 2026.


 

 Project news

Back Launch of the HELP training course on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse in Croatia

Launch of the HELP training course on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse in Croatia

On 8 October 2025, the Croatian version of the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) course on the protection of children against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse was launched in Zagreb.

This tutored course, adapted to Croatia’s legal framework, aims to strengthen capacities of professionals working for and with children and contributes to Croatia’s commitment to establishing the Barnahus – a leading European response model to child sexual abuse seeking to coordinate parallel criminal and child welfare investigations, with all relevant services under one roof, to prevent secondary victimisation of children.

The course was adapted with the support of the Croatian Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation and the Croatian Judicial academy, as part of the European Union - Council of Europe joint project “Implementing the Barnahus model in Croatia”.

The launch event gathered a first cohort of twenty professionals, including advisors, judges, and prosecutors from county and municipal courts across Croatia.

This group will benefit from a three-month personalised training led by tutor Lara Barberic and supported by Judge Lana Petö Kujundžić of the High Criminal Court and Judge Dijana Rizvić of the Municipal Criminal Court of Zagreb. The programme combines international and national standards with practical Croatian case studies.

The training aims to:

  • Enhance the knowledge and skills of professionals to  detect, respond to, and prevent child sexual abuse in a child-friendly, gender-sensitive, and rights-based manner.
  • Promote better co-ordination across sectors involved in child protection — ensuring that legal, medical, and social responses are aligned and mutually reinforcing.
  • Encourage the consistent and effective application of international standards, in particular those set out in the Lanzarote Convention, across all relevant institutions in Croatia.
  • Foster a professional culture that sees children not as passive recipients of protection, but as rights-holders whose voices and best interests must be at the heart of every decision and intervention.

In her welcoming address, Ana Kordej, Acting Director at the Croatian Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, reiterated Croatia’s commitment to opening future Barnahus units. She was joined by Tomislav Briški, General Secretary of the Croatian Judicial Academy, and Zaruhi Gasparyan, Head of Co-operation and Capacity Building Unit, Children’s Rights Division of the Council of Europe, who stressed the training's importance in safeguarding children’s rights.

Marlena Jukić, Croatian representative to the Committee of the State Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Committee) and Acting Head of Sector for Criminal Law Regulations of the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation of Croatia delivered a keynote presentation on the Lanzarote Convention, highlighting  various monitoring rounds that Croatia participated in and the specific recommendations made to the country.

 Programme

Zagreb 8 October 2025
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​ What is Barnahus?

Barnahus (Children’s House) is a child-friendly, multidisciplinary and interagency response model for the coordination of criminal and child welfare investigations in cases of violence against children, including child sexual abuse.

It brings under one roof all relevant professionals (the judge, the prosecutor, the police, social workers and medical professionals such as psychologists, forensic doctors) in a safe environment for children, with the purpose of providing a coordinated and effective response and for preventing re-traumatisation during investigation and court proceedings. The Barnahus model puts the best interest of the child at the heart of investigative procedures, while taking into account that the child’s disclosure is key to identify and investigate violence against children both for criminal and for protective and therapeutic purposes.

Originally developed by the National Children’s Advocacy Centre in the United States, the model was introduced and adapted to the European context by Iceland in 1998. The model was recognised in 2015 as a promising practice by the Committee of the Parties to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Committee). It has been already replicated in Sweden and Norway and is in the process of being adapted in more than a dozen of other European countries. Apart from this project in Croatia, the Council of Europe Children’s Rights Division has supported the Republic of Slovenia in establishing and operating their first Barnahus and is currently implementing projects in Finland, Ireland and Spain.

 What is Barnahus? (Croatian version)

 Video presenting Barnahus in Iceland (Croatian version)

 Kiko and the Manymes TV spot (Croatian version) 

 Kiko and the Manymes Book (Croatian version) 

 Kiko and the Manymes Guidelines for parents (Croatian version)  

 

 

 What do we aim to achieve?

Supporting the sustainable operation of the Barnahus model in Croatia

Supporting the sustainable operation of the Barnahus model in Croatia

Supporting the sustainable operation of the Barnahus model in Croatia

 

The project will support an analysis of the current legal, institutional and policy frameworks for child protection at national level, the roles and responsibilities of key actors, inter-agency information exchange, and will assess the participation and involvement of children in these processes. The analysis will lead to a set of recommendations for improvement and a roadmap for the establishment of the Barnahus model in Croatia. The project will also contribute to the development of procedures and protocols to support inter-agency co-operation, in particular the signing of an inter-agency agreement between relevant ministries and other stakeholders. Finally, a draft business plan and guidelines for organisational and spatial coordination will be developed in consultation with key stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the Barnahus model in Croatia.

  • Analysis of the legislative, policy and institutional framework regarding protection of children and procedures for cases on violence against children, including sexual violence in Croatia (available in Croatian and in English)
  • Mapping and desk research review of the international standards and principles as well as the existing Croatian legislation relevant for professionals handling cases of children victims of sexual violence and abuse (Full version in Croatian / Summary in English)
  • Roadmap, including a Cost Structure Analysis, for the implementation of the Barnahus Model in Croatia (available in Croatian and in English)
  • Report on procedures and protocols supporting an inter-agency agreement between Croatian authorities competent for implementing the Barnahus model in Croatia (available in Croatian and in English)
  • Guidelines on the Implementation of the Barnahus Model in the Area of Organisational and Spatial Coordination (available in Croatian and in English)
Enhancing knowledge and capacities of professionals working in Barnahus

Enhancing knowledge and capacities of professionals working in Barnahus

Enhancing knowledge and capacities of professionals working in Barnahus

 

In order to ensure that legal and non-legal professionals working with and for children in Barnahus are well equipped to fulfil their roles, the project will develop a training gap analysis to identify existing gaps that should be addressed. Recommendations from this analysis will then guide the development of appropriate training materials and the organisation of training of trainers’ workshops to create a pool of national trainers on priority topics. Finally, a study visit will be organised for Croatian professionals to another country where the Barnahus model has already been implemented, in order to learn about the challenges and opportunities that have arisen in the context of implementing the Barnahus model.

Raising awareness of professionals and the wider public on child sexual abuse

Raising awareness of professionals and the wider public on child sexual abuse

Raising awareness of professionals and the wider public on child sexual abuse

 

The project will produce a survey report on perceptions of child sexual abuse in Croatia and, in particular, on the quality and child-friendliness of judicial services available to child victims and witnesses of violence. Roundtables and workshops will be organised to raise awareness among decision makers. Finally, to ensure the successful implementation of the Barnahus model, relevant Council of Europe standards and other materials will be adapted to the Croatian context before being disseminated and promoted through various channels throughout the country.

 What is Barnahus? (Croatian version)

 Video presenting Barnahus in Iceland (Croatian version)

 

 Who do we work with?

The participation of representatives of the relevant bodies and institutions is foreseen. Civil society organisations and academia will also be involved in Project activities to identify existing shortcomings of the Croatian justice system in relation to child victims and witnesses of violence.

 Who will benefit from the project?

The Project targets relevant authorities and legal and non-legal professionals in contact with children and/or dealing with cases of child sexual abuse. They will benefit directly from the Project through reports, analysis and tools on how to implement the Barnahus model in Croatia, as well as capacity building activities.

The final beneficiaries of the Project are children at risk of, victims and/or witnesses of any type of violence, including physical and sexual abuse. Children will eventually benefit from improved access to justice, more effective state response and more child-centred and child-friendly practices during the processing and management of violence against children, including child sexual and physical abuse cases.

The Croatian society as a whole will ultimately benefit from the Project with the wider public reached through awareness raising and promotional activities.

 Project documents

Reports

 Useful resources in Croatian

European standards and principles

Kiko and the hand / Kiko i ruka

Kiko and the Manymes / Kiko i Mnogomene

Tell someone you trust / Reci osobi kojoj vjeruješ

Other resources

 

 

 Video on the Icelandic Barnahus model

  Video on the CoE-EU co-operation on Barnahus model

Watch the long and short versions of the video.

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