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 at a Glance (available in Croatian and in English)

 Project news

Back Croatia makes progress in implementing the Barnahus model with the public presentation of new strategic documents

Croatia makes progress in implementing the Barnahus model with the public presentation of new strategic documents

On 27 May 2025, key national stakeholders as well as leading international and national experts gathered in Zagreb for the Second Roundtable of the Joint European Union–Council of Europe Project "Implementing the Barnahus Model in Croatia". The event marked a significant milestone in Croatia's efforts to strengthen child protection and ensure child-friendly justice for victims of sexual violence.

During the roundtable, key deliverables developed under the project were presented and discussed with more than 70 stakeholders. These included:

Opening remarks were delivered by Ana Kordej, Acting Director at the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation; Rima Joujou, Resident Country Coordinator at the European Commission, SG REFORM; and Zaruhi Gasparyan, Head of the Council of Europe's Cooperation and Capacity Building Unit of the Children’s Rights Division.

In a first panel, Ivana Celio Cega, Human Rights Independent Expert, introduced the report on procedures and protocols to support cooperation among Croatian ministries and institutions which included a draft Memorandum of Understanding on implementing the Barnahus Model in Croatia to be signed by high level representatives of all agencies involved in the future Barnahus.

In the second morning panel, participants exchanged with the international experts, Liisa Järvilehto and Tom Pakkanen from the Helsinki Barnahus, who developed the proposed roadmap and cost analysis structure for establishing at least four Barnahus units across Croatia — one central hub in Zagreb and three regional centres. This strategic document was developed in close cooperation with the members of the project Advisory Group representing all the agencies involved in the future Barnahus.

Later, experts from Ipsos Croatia — Tatjana Petrović, Lana Penezić, and Mirna Cvitan — shared the findings of a national survey that gauged public understanding and attitudes toward child sexual abuse. The results will inform future awareness campaigns and communication strategies in Croatia.
Closing remarks emphasised the importance of sustained cooperation between government bodies, civil society, and international partners. Representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, the European Commission, and the Council of Europe highlighted the next steps, including the preparation of a Change Management Plan to ensure the sustainable rollout of the Barnahus model across Croatia, the development of training activities and guidelines on the spatial organisation of the Barnahus units.

The project, co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument and co-funded and implemented by the Council of Europe in close cooperation with the Croatian Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, is a crucial initiative to offer children of Croatia comprehensive, child-centred services under one roof — a model already successfully adopted by several European countries.

The roundtable concluded with a restricted session for the members of the project Advisory Group focusing on change management plan.

 Programme (in Croatian and in English)

​​ Roadmap and Cost Structure Analysis  (available in Croatian and in English)

 Presentation: Roadmap and Cost Structure Analysis for Barnahus Implementation

 Report on Procedures and Protocols supporting an inter-agency agreement between Croatian authorities including a draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)  (available in Croatian and in English) 

 Presentation: Procedures and Protocols for Barnahus – Memorandum of Understanding (in Croatian and in English)

 Survey on Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse in Croatia (available in Croatian and in English)

 Presentation: Perceptions of Child Sexual Abuse in Croatia (available in Croatian)

Barnahus Croatia Zagreb 27 May 2025
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 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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