The objective of this joint EU Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) - Council of Europe project is to support Slovenia in establishing and operating their first Barnahus for child victims of sexual abuse in line with international standards and promising European practices.
In close cooperation with the Ministry of justice of the Republic of Slovenia, this will be achieved through a series of activities aimed at reviewing relevant laws and policies, developing interagency strategies, tools and procedures, training professionals working with children and raising public awareness of child sexual abuse in Slovenia during the period of 2019-2022.
The project is a second phase to the joint EU DG REFORM-CoE project “Feasibility Study for setting up Barnahus” (2018-2019) and builds on its results.
What is Barnahus?
Barnahus (Children’s House) is the leading European response model for child sexual abuse.
Its unique interagency approach brings together all relevant services under one roof to avoid re-victimisation of the child and provide every child with a coordinated and effective response that has a legal standing. The core purpose of Barnahus is to coordinate parallel criminal and child welfare investigations and provide support services for child victims and witnesses of violence in a child-friendly and safe environment.
The project supports the setup of the operational and organisational framework of Barnahus in line with the National Guidelines for Barnahus in Slovenia (2018) and the implementation of the recommendations set forth by the Roadmap towards establishing, operating and evaluating Barnahus in Slovenia (2018).
The project targets national and local authorities as well as professionals who are in direct contact with children and/or deal with child sexual abuse cases.
Ultimately the project intends to support children at risk, child victims and/or witnesses of sexual abuse.
Videos
"Keep me safe", Icelandic Barnahus model
Bragi Guðbrandsson’s message at the Project's Closing conference