On 23 January a high-level round table was organised in Kyiv to strengthen the state response to child sexual exploitation and abuse. Nearly 50 key policy and decision-makers participated in the round table, including notably Ms Iryna Lutsenko, MP and President’s representative at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ms Nataliya Fedorovych, Vice Minister of Social Policy, Mr Mykola Kuleba, the Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and representatives of ministries and agencies responsible for managing child abuse cases, including the Ministries of Social Policy, Justice, Interior and Health, the General Prosecutor’s Office, National Police, Ombudsperson’s Office and regional authorities. The aim was to agree on the next steps leading towards a Roadmap for piloting Barnahus or a similar child-friendly interdisciplinary multiagency response model in Ukraine.

The feasibility assessment for piloting Barnahus in Ukraine, which was conducted as part of the project “Combating violence against women and children in Ukraine” in 2017 by the Council of Europe, was presented and jointly discussed at the round table. The assessment mapped the current multiagency and interdisciplinary support services available and management of child sexual abuse cases in the three pilot regions of Odessa, Lviv and Donetsk, identified gaps and proposed recommendations for next steps on the basis of European best practices.

The proposed framework model was endorsed by the participants. In particular, Ms Lutsenko underlined the importance that interagency collaboration is governed by national procedures, is formally embedded in a national or local structure, and most importantly, is financed with public funding. Adoption of more detailed procedural and legislative guidance was commonly regarded as important before implementing a pilot, in particular with regard to child forensic interviewing. Participants called for further support of the Council of Europe to facilitate the recommended interagency dialogue process and reforms.

Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse are among the worst forms of violence against children. The Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, also known as “the Lanzarote Convention”, aims to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse of children, protect child victims of sexual offences and prosecute perpetrators. Draft national legislation to ensure implementation of the Lanzarote Convention is currently pending on approval at Verkhovna Rada. Its adoption would greatly strengthen the legislative framework for interagency collaboration on child abuse cases. Ms. Lutsenko committed herself to further pursue and ensure the adoption of the laws as a priority.

The Lanzarote Committee referred to the Icelandic Barnahus model as an example of a promising practice in its 2015 implementation report. Barnahus is a child-friendly, interdisciplinary and multiagency response model to child sexual abuse and provision of services for child victims and witnesses of violence. Its basic concept is to avoid subjecting the child to repeated interviews by many agencies in different locations by ensuring collaboration between relevant judicial, social and medical actors in one child-friendly premise. The core of the Barnahus model is the assumption that the child’s disclosure is key both to identify and investigate child abuse for criminal and for protective and therapeutic purposes.