The Council of Europe Children’s Rights Division has participated in the First International Congress on a Comprehensive Approach to Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents with the Barnahus Model, organised on 6th February 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.
This Congress brought together more than 300 international and national experts in the protection of children from sexual violence and the promotion of child-friendly justice, including leading professionals on the development and implementation of the Barnahus model. It provided an opportunity for information-sharing, and discussion on best practices and challenges encountered in the implementation of Barnahus. More specifically, participants reflected on the implementation of the Barnahus model in Spain, lessons that can be drawn from Catalonia and other European countries, and challenges faced.
As part of this event, the Council of Europe Children’s Rights Division presented an overview of the state-of-play of the Barnahus model in Europe and announced the upcoming publication of the 2nd edition of the Barnahus mapping study. Other experts included Bragi Guðbrandsson, member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and former director general of the Icelandic Child Protection Agency, Emma Harewood, co-founder of the first Barnahus in the United Kingdom, and Mònica Martínez Bravo, Regional Minister of Social Rights and Inclusion of the Government of Catalonia.
Spain opened its first Barnahus in Catalonia in 2020, and there are now 14 operational Barnahus centres in the region. New Barnahus centres are expected to open in 2026 in regions such as Navarre, Cantabria, the Basque Country, and Castile-La Mancha, while communities like the Balearic Islands and Asturias are progressing at different stages toward their implementation. These advances are supported by an increasingly favourable legal framework, driven by key laws such as Organic Law 8/2021 (LOPIVI) and Organic Law 10/2022, which strengthen child-centred justice and comprehensive support for victims.
The event was organised by Save the Children Spain, in collaboration with the Catalunya Department of Social Rights and Inclusion and the “la Caixa” Foundation.
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