Ensuring the rights of child victims of violence to justice, protection, and recovery in Bulgaria by supporting multidisciplinary and interagency services.
The PROMISE Barnahus Network is working to ensure the rights of child victims of violence to justice, protection and recovery in Bulgaria by supporting multidisciplinary and interagency services. The four main activities include:
Introductory Training – A Journey through Barnahus
This involves a series of (online) webinars, which introduce the Barnahus model and its four rooms, as well as the Barnahus Quality Standards, including a virtual tour of a Barnahus. The webinars also promote national exchange and aim to involve professionals and decision-makers from different sectors.
National Roundtables, in preparation and follow up to study visit to Norway
A national roundtable will be organised before and after the study visit, involving a multidisciplinary group of officials decision-makers and practitioners in all partner countries participating in the study visit.
Study Visit to Barnahus in Norway
The project includes one study visit to Barnahus to generate a deeper understanding of the Barnahus model and how it can be adapted to a specific national context. The study visit is combined with seminars involving practitioners working in Barnahus, including management, police, medical staff, child protection and therapists and psychologists.
Technical Support
This project provides technical support to the project partners, through targeted interventions, including peer-to-peer exchange, small group 1-1 mentoring, technical guidance, including “how to”, factsheets, and templates adapted to the needs of the partners. Partners may benefit from up to 10 days of technical support.
Background
There is ample evidence that children are often drawn into parallel investigations, moving between different agencies and disciplines, including law enforcement, social services, and medical and mental health services. Unless relevant agencies work together, children can become exposed to segmented, repetitious and intimidating experiences, which can lead to stress, hinder disclosure and cause (re)traumatisation.
This is a serious problem. It violates children’s rights to be heard and receive information. Moreover, the victim’s disclosure is fundamental to ensuring an effective and child-friendly criminal investigation, judicial process, child protection and interventions for recovery for child victims and witnesses of violence. Barnahus (Icelandic for “Children’s House”) is recognised as a leading child-friendly, multdisciplinary and interagency model responding to child victims and witnesses of violence that incorporates the above elements. For more info about Barnahus, click here.
Partners
Social activity and practice institute (SAPI), Bulgaria
PROMISE Barnahus Network through the council of the Baltic Sea States Secretariat, Children at Risk
Funding
The project is funded by EEA Norway Grants. It is made possible in part due to the memorandum of understanding between the Norwegian Police Directorate and the Council of the Baltic Sea States in its role as the host of the PROMISE Barnahus Network.
Period
Dec 2022 – Dec 2024
Contact
Olivia Lind Haldorsson, Senior Adviser and Head of the CBSS Children at Risk Unit
Phone: +46 73 056 45 92
Email: olivia.lind.haldorsson@cbss.org