WHAT IS THE BARNAHUS MODEL?
The Barnahus (Children’s House in Icelandic) is a comprehensive care model where all departments involved in a child sexual abuse case are coordinated and work under the same roof to care for the child victim. It is a house, far from police stations and hospitals, that has a child-friendly environment: decoration adapted to their age and professionals specialized in child victimology.
This model, already applied in the United States and Northern Europe, puts the child at the center so that he/she does not have to move between the different services involved in the case, nor repeat his/her story so many times. Instead of going to the police station to make a statement, the child goes to the Barnahus where he is directly interviewed by a forensic expert, which is recorded and viewed by all the actors involved in the case via closed circuit. The recording of the forensic interview allows the child’s testimony to be collected as soon as possible, which facilitates the child’s recovery and prevents the child from having to go to trial.
Its effectiveness is based on evidence. Many empirical studies have shown that this model helps reduce secondary victimization and improves the treatment of children and their families. Moreover, in Iceland, for example, since its implementation, the number of cases in which the offender has been charged has tripled.
S4NS and BARNAHUS
In S4NS we collaborate with the Eveho Foundation in the Barnahus project, providing our experience in the management of the IT infrastructure, both local equipment (computers, network, security, cameras, recorders, control software, communications, …) and the management of information from Microsoft 365.