The first court specialised on violence against children in Spain is a pilot project settled in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria since October 2021. With the aim of exploring this child-friendly justice experience and fostering the debate on regional policy measures to implement the Barnahus model, a working meeting and study visit in Las Palmas was organised in the framework of the “Barnahus Spain” project. Being the second meeting with the regions on the Barnahus model (the first one took place in Tarragona), it was attended by more than 70 participants, including representatives of the Project’s Advisory Group, the General Council of the Judiciary and the 19 Autonomous Communities and Cities, together with Save the Children Spain, the University of the Basque Country and Plataforma de Infancia acting as Council of Europe independent experts.

On 14 March, participants met to discuss the regional actions and guidelines included in the draft Strategy and Action Plan to scale up Barnahus-type services in Spain and its regions. This co-governance exercise, understood as the need to cooperate with regions in a non-centralised country, began with the presentation of the new measures carried out by the different territories to implement the Barnahus model. Presentations were followed by fruitful discussions and a prioritising exercise on the measures already included in the draft policy document.

Following the working meeting, all participants visited the pilot court on violence against children and adolescents. This promising practice was mentioned in the project inception report and in the Council of Europe Barnahus mapping study. The main objective of this court, promoted by the Spanish General Council of the Judiciary and leaded by the judge Tomás Martín, is to adapt justice to children who experienced all types of violence in accordance with children’s rights international standards, including the Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on child-friendly justice. This court has child-friendly premises and uses child-friendly and age-appropriate materials it has developed. It has introduced special procedures for child victims going to court and uses multidisciplinary and interagency coordination protocols. Forensic interviews are carried out in child-friendly rooms but the pilot court also has special equipment for conducting the forensic interviews outside the court building, including at the victim’s home. The operational guidelines of the court (in Spanish), with pictures of the premises, can be found here.

The specialised court and Barnahus have demonstrated to be neither exclusive nor antagonistic, but complementary models. The pilot court has therefore proved to be a relevant promising practice on child-friendly justice which methodologies can be incorporated in Barnahus-type services. The Executive Secretary of the Lanzarote Committee joint the delegation to convey the results of the visit to the body that monitors the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.

The final version of the Strategy and Action Plan to scale up Barnahus-type services in Spain and its regions - which will include the conclusions of this meeting - as well as a Communication Strategy - currently under preparation - will be officially presented at an event to be held in July 2024.