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Child victims’ encounters with systems set up to protect them often expose them to mental stress. Proceedings are not designed for children, and as a result, their rights to assistance, to information, and to be heard in manner that is adapted to their age and development, may not always be fulfilled. This is a serious problem. It violates children’s rights to be heard and receive information. Barnahus (Icelandic for “Children’s House”) is recognised as a leading child-friendly, multi-disciplinary and interagency model responding to child victims and witnesses of violence that incorporates the above elements. 

The project addresses the demand for support to implement the Barnahus model in Bulgaria and to progressively meet the Barnahus quality standards. It supports the continued progress towards securing the enabling environment, setting up and equipping new Barnahus locations, and ongoing training of staff and stakeholders at various levels of expertise and covering a broad range of competencies – some of which are shared among all professionals who take part in Barnahus. In addition to continuous and sustainable funding, international multilateral and bilateral exchange and technical support has proven crucial to the development of the model and the harmonization of practice across Europe.

The ultimate beneficiaries of the project are children at risk. The main target groups are staff in Barnahus and other professionals that have a stake in supporting Barnahus. 

The overall goal with the project is to ensure the rights of child victims of violence to justice, protection and recovery in Bulgaria, by supporting multidisciplinary and interagency services. The objectives include to support the Barnahus in Bulgaria to achieve excellence in practice, through training and bilateral exchange and technical support.

• Activity: Activity 1. Introductory Training – A Journey through Barnahus : This involves a series of (online) webinars, which introduce the Barnahus model and its four rooms, as well as the Barnahus Quality Standards, including a virtual tour of a Barnahus. The webinars also promote national exchange and aim to involve professionals and decision-makers from different sectors. , Contracted Amount: 34 139.01 , Reported Amount: 0.00
• Activity: Activity 2. National Roundtables, in preparation and follow up to study visit to Norway : A national roundtable will be organised before and after the study visit, involving a multidisciplinary group of officials, decision makers and practitioners, in all partner countries participating in the study visit. , Contracted Amount: 13 866.83 , Reported Amount: 0.00
• Activity: Activity 3. Study Visit to Barnahus in Norway : The project includes one study visit to Barnahus to generate a deeper understanding of the Barnahus model and how it can be adapted to a specific national context. The study visit is combined with seminars involving practitioners working in Barnahus, including management, police, medical staff, child protection and therapists and psychologists. Importantly, Promise experience show that study visits and on site seminars are important team building experiences, and facilitate contacts across borders, which are invaluable to build a common sense of direction, mutual trust and join commitments. The seminars will include lectures and facilitate exchange, promoting a deeper understanding of the role and set up of Barnahus, the different disciplines working together, good practice and how the model can be adapted to the national level. The seminars are grounded in the Barnahus Quality Standards, and will among other things focus on child protection, child interviews, case management, therapeutic interventions, and prevention. Partners are foreseen to ensure – the greatest extent possible – that the participants from their country represent the range of ministries, agencies, and professionals who should be involved in the establishment and running of Barnahus. This way, their country representatives have an opportunity to meet with their direct peers from Norway and the other partner countries. Additionally, each country’s national dialogue will be directly supported via the seminars, in addition to the networking aspects of traveling and eating together. , Contracted Amount: 77 245.51 , Reported Amount: 0.00
• Activity: Activity 4. Technical Support : This project provides technical support to the project partners, through targeted interventions, including peer-to-peer exchange, small group 1-1 mentoring, technical guidance, including “how to”, factsheets, templates, adapted to the needs of the partners. Each partner to the project may benefit from up to 10 days of technical support in the context of the project. The project provides a platform for peer-to-peer support among the partners, but also with the broader membership of the Promise Barnahus Network. Technical support may also involve translation of guidelines, practical tools, factsheets, templates and other relevant material that has been produced by the CBSS or other actors to support the work of Barnahus. , Contracted Amount: 12 761.79 , Reported Amount: 0.00
• Activity: Activity 5. Training in the functions of Barnahus: Drawing on the specific country needs, Bulgaria will participate in the following training: 7 b. Child Protection – with focus on child protection in the context of parallel child protection and criminal investigations (Barnahus quality standard 1, 2 and 5) In Sweden, with study visit to Barnahus Stockholm, 2-day training, 1 day study visit, max 15 participants per country 7 d. Medical Interventions – with a focus on child friendly top-to-toe examinations, the therapeutic impact of medical examinations, and forensic examinations (Barnahus quality standard 7) In Bulgaria 7 f. Reaching marginalised children and communities – a training focussed on for example children who do not speak the official language, where there is lack of trust in national authorities, and other concerns that lead to marginalisation and exclusion In Bulgaria, Contracted Amount: 195 602.60 , Reported Amount: 0.00

• Partner: Association Social Activities and Practice Institute/SAPI, Contracted Amount*: 0.00 , Reported Amount: 116 697.90