About this training: Join to learn about the current draft of the new Barnahus Quality Standard 11 on child protection, and to explore practical applications of the standard in Barnahus.

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), in close collaboration with the Barnahus Network, is currently developing a new Barnahus Quality Standard on child protection, in the context of an EU co-funded project called Promise Soteria. 

The Barnahus Quality standards were developed through a collaborative process in 2017 in the context of the first Promise project, and can be found here. It has been a longstanding priority of the CBSS and the Barnahus Network to develop a standard to guide practice in Barnahus concerning child protection, which is an important aspect of the multidisciplinary interventions in Barnahus. The work to develop the standard began early 2024 and has so far been informed by a survey, a mapping, as well as written and oral consultations with members of the Barnahus Network.

The standard is still under consultation and is slated to be finalised in time for the Barnahus Forum June 2025, where discussions will start on defining indicators and identifying examples of good practice to include.

Recommended reading: March 2025 draft of the Child Protection Standard

Who should join: Barnahus staff and related stakeholders who provide measures and structures to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence affecting children.

Format: Participants should come prepared to participate in a seminar style training, and to share how they are working with the topics.

Language: the training is offered in English. You are welcome to bring an interpreter to this event, we can set it up so it works seamlessly in Zoom. 

Registration: This training will run twice! Both sessions will cover the same information. Pick one:

• Register for the morning session 8:00 – 11:00 CET, or
• register for the afternoon session 13:00 to 16:00 CET

Cost: Free for Network Members and Associate Members

Instructors: Linda Jonsson and Anette Birgerson

Agenda:

• Introducing the draft Child Protection Standard – CBSS
• Seminar on practical applications – Linda Jonsson and Anette Birgersson
• Small group discussions
• Summing up
• 10-minute breaks about once per hour

Meet the instructors:

Linda Jonsson holds a PhD in child psychiatry. She has been working in social services and child psychiatry in Sweden and with responsibility for issues related to sexual abuse and exploitation at the Swedish national competence centre against child abuse, Barnafrid. Her research covers all forms of child abuse, especially sexual exploitation and online sexual abuse. Linda is currently an associate professor in social work at Marie Cederschiöld College, and engages in various expert and consulting roles in Sweden.  

Anette Birgersson is a social worker, licensed psychotherapist, keynote speaker, presenter and educator with a focus on sexual abuse and trauma. Her aim is to increase the knowledge around trauma, sexual abuse and therapeutic approach using DBT and. Anette collaborates with therapists, practitioners and researchers in Europe, the USA, and Australia. https://abirgersson.se/

This training is provided with EU co-funding.

Instructors: Dr Julia Korkman & Dr Malin Joleby

Who should join: Child forensic interviewers and Barnahus personnel

Time: 10:00 to 12:00 CET

Cost: Free for Network Members and Associate Members

About the training: Modern digital technology has created new opportunities for perpetrators to sexually exploit children, leading to a significant rise in online child sexual abuse crimes globally. As with other forms of child sexual abuse, children may find it difficult to disclose their experiences. This and other aspects of the online nature of the crimes have implications for how children should be encountered and interviewed in the forensic setting. This training will provide:

• A summary of the current research on children’s disclosures of online CSA experiences.
• An understanding of the different forms of online child sexual abuse.
• Insights into recent studies on how children themselves wish to be heard.
• Challenges faced by legal practitioners and the potential impact of forensic interviews on children’s well-being. 
• Suggestions for conducting victim-sensitive interviews when investigating online child sexual abuse cases using an adapted version of the well-established NICHD-R protocol, specifically modified for the unique challenges of online child sexual abuse cases.

Format: The training will consist of two lectures of 1 ca 45 minutes each, followed by commentaries by practicing police officer and Q&A.

Language: the training is offered in English. You are welcome to bring an interpreter to this event, we can set it up so it works seamlessly in Zoom. 

Agenda: 

• 10:00 CET (9:00 Finnish) – Introduction from the Barnahus network 
• 10:15 – Lecture 
• 10:45 – Break 
• 11:00 – Lecture 
• 11:30 – Practitioner reflections – from Maria Hietajärvi, Detective Chief Inspector, Crimes Against Children Unit, Western Uusimaa Police Department
• 11:40 – Q&A, discussion 
• 12:00 – End 

Meet the instructors: 

Dr Julia Korkman is a Senior Programme Officer at HEUNI (The European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations) as well as Professor of Practice with the Faculty of Law, and Adjunct Professor in Legal Psychology at Åbo Akademi and co-leads the legal psychology research group LePÅ at Åbo Akademi. She is specialized memory in the legal context and has conducted research on among other things investigative interviewing, decision making in legal contexts, investigating alleged cases of crimes against children, eyewitness identifications, factors associated with rape victims’ tendencies to make police reports, psychological coercion in court cases of human trafficking, and asylum processes as co-PI of the research group PsychAID. At HEUNI, Dr Korkman is responsible for the planning and implementation of HEUNI’s EU and other international and national projects, especially regarding the rights of victims of crime, virtual justice, and developing the criminal justice process in an evidence-based and humane way. Julia is the current president of the European Association of Psychology and Law and a member of several other expert networks. She has received several prices for her work, including the Academic Excellence Award by the International Investigative Interviewing Research Group (iIIRG), the Science Communication Prize 2025 by The Finnish Association of Science Editors and Journalists and the Finland-Swedish Psychologist of the Year Award 2025 by the Finnish Psychological Association. In 2022 she authored the popular-scientific book Memory dependent (Fi: Muistin varassa, SWE: Minnets makt) about the role of memory in legal processes, which has been widely acclaimed and also received several awards. Julia is also a performing and recording singer who occasionally also sings about crimes.

Malin Joleby, PhD, is a postdoctoral researcher and research group leader in the Rahm/Joleby research group at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Her main areas of expertise are forensic psychology, developmental psychology, and psychiatry, with a specialization in research on sexual abuse. Dr. Joleby works on both perpetrator prevention and victimology. She plays a key role in the Prevent It treatment program, aimed at individuals at risk of committing sexual offenses against children, and leads studies on the psychological impact of technology-assisted child sexual abuse. She is also involved in research on forensic interviews with preschoolers and children witnessing domestic violence.  Her doctoral dissertation was recognized as “Dissertation of the Year” at the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, and she has been nominated for the Swedish National Committee’s award for young researchers in psychology.

This training is provided with EU co-funding by the PROMISE Elpis project.

Time: 09:30-16:00 CET

Announcing an interactive online training on transnational child protection cases, featuring Rebecca O’Donnell from Child Circle.

This training will introduce guidance and tools for professionals working across borders to safeguard children’s rights.

What are transnational child protection cases?
Child protection concerns arise when a child is suffering, or at risk of suffering, from violence, abuse, neglect or exploitation. Transnational cases arise when more than one country is relevant to measures to be taken on the protection of the child. They include asylum and migration, criminal justice, trafficking, family and child welfare and missing children cases.

Who is the training for?
Professionals involved in transnational child protection cases, including policy makers; agencies & stakeholders working on improving the system and building resources; practitioners working on improving practices.

What to Expect

• Expert insights: Learn from specialists about international and European legal frameworks, issues and challenges in transnational child protection cases
• Practical tools: Explore key resources and tools in different cases
• Collaborative discussions: Exchange with professionals from different countries and sectors on how better to fulfil children’s rights

Agenda: To be announced

Cost: Free for Network Members and Associate Members

This training is offered as part of an EU co-funded project supporting inclusive and resilient child protection systems, led by the Council of the Baltic Sea States with partners from Child Circle and Marie Cedershöld University.

12 June – 9:30 to 17:00

13 June – 9:30 to lunch

Agenda and details forthcoming …