A conference held in Madrid on 25 October took stock of the achievements of a Council of Europe/European Union DG REFORM joint project to promote the Barnahus model in Spain. The Barnahus ('Children´s House' in Icelandic) is a leading European response model to child sexual abuse, aimed at coordinating parallel criminal and child welfare investigations, with all relevant services under one roof, to prevent secondary victimisation of children.
The project "Strengthening child-friendly justice through effective cooperation and coordination among different Barnahus-type services in the regions of Spain" has been implemented in collaboration with the Spanish Ministry of Youth and Childhood. Over 28 months, the project has contributed to improving the legislative and policy framework for introducing the Barnahus model in Spain and its regions, while also strengthening the capacities of professionals working with children.
The objectives of the event were to showcase the project's main achievements in strengthening the protection of child victims and witnesses of sexual violence and upholding the rights of child victims, exchange views on its implementation at the regional level, and assess the actions planned in Phase II of the project.
The Council of Europe and DG REFORM have supported several member states (Slovenia, Finland, Ireland, and Croatia) in establishing and implementing the Barnahus model. Spain is the first decentralised country in which the Barnahus project is implemented, where relevant responsibilities are delegated to 19 autonomous communities and cities.
More than 150 participants, including high-level national and regional authorities and civil servants, the Ombudsperson's Office, the State Council for Children Participation, civil society representatives and national and international children rights' experts participated in the conference. The Minister of Youth and Childhood of Spain, Sira Rego, Nathalie Berger, Director for Support to Member States' Reforms, DG REFORM, European Commission, and Roberto Olla, Head of Human Dignity and Gender Equality Department of the Council Europe, delivered the opening speeches.
The conference coincided with the anniversary of the opening for signature of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse in Lanzarote on 25 October 2007.
