How will Latvia’s Barnahus model look like? Answer to this and to other children’s rights protection questions are going to be explored within European Economic Area grant programme “International Police Cooperation and Combating Crime” project “Support for Barnahus implementation in Latvia” seminar “Together” organised by the Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia in cooperation with Icelandic Government Agency for Child Protection, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Children’s Clinical University Hospital, State Inspectorate for Protection of Children’s Rights of the Republic of Latvia and other institutions involved in the children’s rights protection.
The seminar is going to be held on 25th and 26th of November, 2021, and is going to be opened by remarks from the Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Latvia Marija Golubeva and Minister of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia Gatis Eglītis. Main goal of the seminar is to inform participants and exchange expert opinions on child rights protection practices with child protection specialists from Latvia, Iceland, Ireland and Estonia, especially on topics of interdisciplinary cooperation and the planned changes to system of evidence gathering within criminal investigations on violence against children in Latvia, as well as protection and support to victims.
Barnahus is an internationally recognized model of interdisciplinary and multi-institutional cooperation for children who have suffered from violence or are its witnesses. Barnahus aims to provide a coordinated and effective support for every child and prevent their repeated traumatization during police investigation. The project “Support for Barnahus implementation in Latvia” is going to be implemented until end of March, 2024, with total funding of 2.07 million euros.
Information prepared by the International Project Coordination Unit of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Latvia based on information provided by the Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia.
Photo: Barnhaus centre at Vilnius, Lithuania, Christophe Vander Eecken; source: eealibrary.org.