Law as one enabling factor for the Barnahus

There are many ways to use legislation to enable the setup and success of the Barnahus. From full legislation to no legislation, having the perfect law in place is incredibly useful, yet not an absolute condition for establishing a well-functioning cooperation. With a focus on the benefits of legislation, watch this webinar to hear about best practices learned from the application of law that can be applied universally, and also to discuss crucial factors for achieving a well-functioning Barnahus.

This webinar is aimed at all professionals working to establish and improve Barnahus or similar setups which are providing a multidisciplinary and interagency response to child victims and witnesses of violence.

Summary

Anne-Lise Farstad, from Barnehus Kristiansand, discussed the legal issues involved in setting up Barnahus. The first Barnahus in Norway was established almost 11 years ago, but there has only been legislation covering Barnahus for the past 3 years. Even without legislation, the conclusion of a national evaluation in 2012 was that Barnahus was a success.

In 2015, Norway enacted a new law that mandated the use of Barnahus as the primary rule. This means that almost all children must visit a Barnahus and that forensic interviews must be conducted there. As a result of this law, the Police are now obligated to use Barnahus. This new legal requirement has brought about closer collaboration between the Police and Barnahus and has clarified the role of Barnahus. Anne-Lise examined the implications of this law, considering the work processes it has fostered and its positive and negative impacts. On the positive side, the law has improved the quality of forensic interviews, enhanced police skills in childcare, and increased the police’s understanding of the consequences of trauma. However, there are also challenges to note. For instance, children living far from the nearest Barnahus often have to travel long distances. Additionally, while the law governs the forensic interviews conducted by law enforcement, other services such as therapeutic treatments do not receive the same level of prioritization.olved in setting up a Barnahus.

Kim Risom Rasmussen from Børnehus Sjælland and Merete Bonde Jørgensen from the National Board of Social Services shared the Danish perspective. Denmark established Barnahus through a new stand-alone law that regulates the multi-disciplinary and interagency cooperation and procedures in Barnahus. Public awareness and outrage about child protection failures combined with a broad consensus that the Barnahus model would be a sensible investment for Denmark enabled the political commitment for swift law and policy reform to establish the model. They also shared the Danish experiences from the implementation of the law, which overall has had a huge positive impact for the establishment of Barnahus.

About the speakers

Anne-Lise Farstad from Statens barnehus Kristiansand shared the Norwegian perspective. While the first Barnahus in Norway was established almost 11 years ago, Norway has only had legislation covering Barnahus for 3 years. Even without legislation, the conclusion of a national evaluation in 2012 was that Barnahus was a success.

Kim Risom Rasmussen from Børnehus Sjælland and Merete Bonde Jørgensen from the National Board of Social Services shared the Danish perspective. Denmark established Barnahus through a new stand-alone law that regulates the multi-disciplinary and interagency cooperation and procedures in Barnahus. Public awareness and outrage about child protection failures combined with a broad consensus that the Barnahus model would be a sensible investment for Denmark enabled the political commitment for swift law and policy reform to establish the model.

 The PROMISE Webinar Series is co-organised with Terre des Hommes, a partner of this project, as part of the ChildHub’s child protection webinar series.

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