Brussels, - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Brussels,

June 14th, 2017The Barnahus movement and the Council of Europe guidelines and conventions

Claude JANIZZIChairman of the Lanzarote Committee

Claude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

1Slide2

2009

Guidelines recommended by the Committee of ministers on integrated national

strategies for the protection of children

against violence

5.3.1.

C

hild protection institutions should have a clear obligation to collaborate6.5.1. Modalities for inter-agency co-operation should be clearly defined6.5.2. Through the provision of independent advocacy and support services, children should be encouraged to speak to the relevant authority about their experience of violence

Claude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

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Guidelines

recommended by the Committee of ministers on integrated national strategies

for the protection of children against violence

6.5.3. Child victims

should

be assessed without delay. For victims of violence within the home, the protective capacity of the nonviolent caregiver should be established 6.7.3. Judicial and extra-judicial proceedings involving children should be treated as a priority and be completed without unjustified

delay6.7.5. J

udicial proceedings should

not

aggravate

the trauma experienced by the child. Where appropriate, the justice response should be followed swiftly by adequate support services.

Claude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

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2010

Guidelines of the Committee of ministers of the Council of Europe on child–friendly justice

9. When children are heard or giving evidence

in judicial and non-judicial proceedings, this should preferably take place in camera, only those directly involved should be present11. Children

should be

protected from secondary

victimisation16. A multidisciplinary approach should be encouraged to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the child50. In all proceedings involving children, the urgency principle should be applied to provide a speedy response and protect the rights of the child, while respecting the rule of lawClaude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 20174Slide5

2010

Guidelines of the Committee of ministers of the Council of Europe on child–friendly justice

62. Interviewing rooms should be arranged for children in a child-friendly environment64

. Interviews of children should be carried out by trained professionals.64. Children should be given the possibility to give evidence in the most favourable settings and under the most suitable conditions

67

. The

number of interviews should be as limited as possible and their length should be adapted to the child’s age and attention span71. Interview protocols that take into account different stages of the child’s development should be designed and implementedClaude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 20175Slide6

2010

Guidelines of the Committee of ministers of the Council of Europe on child–friendly justice

74. The possibility of taking statements of child victims and witnesses in specially designed child-friendly facilities and a child-friendly environment should be examined

Chap V point j) Members of the Council of Europe are encouraged to set up child-friendly, multi-agency and interdisciplinary centres for child victims and witnesses where children could be interviewed and medically examined for forensic purpose, comprehensively assessed and receive all relevant therapeutic services from appropriate professionals

Claude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

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2007

The Lanzarote Convention on Protection of children against

sexual exploitation and sexual

abuseArticle 30 - Principles 1. Each Party shall take the necessary legislative or other measures

to

ensure that investigations and criminal proceedings are carried

out in the best interests and respecting the rights of the child. 2. Each Party shall adopt a protective approach towards victims, ensuring that the investigations and criminal proceedings do not aggravate the trauma experienced by the child and that the criminal justice response is followed by assistance, where appropriate. 3. Each Party shall ensure that the investigations and criminal proceedings are treated as priority and carried out without any unjustified delayClaude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 20177Slide8

2007

The Lanzarote Convention on Protection of children against sexual exploitation and

sexual abuseClaude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

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Article 31 - General measures of protection

Each

Party shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to protect the rights and interests of victims, including their special needs as witnesses, at all stages of investigations and criminal

proceedings,

Article

34 - Investigations

Each

Party shall adopt such measures as may be necessary to ensure that persons,

units or services in charge of investigations are specialised

in the field of combating sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children or that persons are trained for this purpose. Such units or services shall have adequate financial resources.

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2007

The Lanzarote Convention on Protection of children against sexual exploitation and

sexual abuseClaude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

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Article 35 - Interviews with the child

Each

Party shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that:

interviews

with the child take place without unjustified delay

after the facts have been reported to the competent authorities;

interviews

with the child take place, where necessary,

in premises designed or adapted for this purpose

;

interviews

with the child are carried out by

professionals trained

for this purpose;

the

same persons

, if possible and where appropriate,

conduct all interviews

with the child;

the

number of interviews

is as limited as possible and in so far as strictly necessary for the purpose of criminal proceedings; Slide10

2007

The Lanzarote Convention on Protection of children against sexual exploitation and

sexual abuse

2.

Each Party shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that all interviews with the victim or, where appropriate, those with a child witness, may be videotaped and that these

videotaped interviews

may be accepted as evidence during the court proceedings, according to the rules provided by its internal law. Claude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 201710Slide11

2007

The Lanzarote Committee’s Recommendations following the first monitoring round on protection of children

against sexual abuse in the

circle of trust

The intervening players need

coordination

and collaboration Arrange the interview of the child victim in a child friendly setting separate from the usual premises where investigations and interviews are conducted ( such as police, hospitals or court premises) by taking into consideration the best practices in the fieldEnsure that interviewing staff has undergone suitable qualifying trainingConduct the interview

as soon as possible

after the offence

Claude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

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2007

The Lanzarote Committee’s Recommendations following the first monitoring round on protection of children

against sexual abuse in the

circle of trustClaude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 2017

12

Limit the duration and number of interviews

and take into account the child’s age and attention span (only where absolutely indispensable interview more than one time, with the same interviewer and under the same conditions

)

Offer

the defence

the possibility of contesting the child’s disclosure during the interview by asking questions

Make systematic

use of video equipment

to record the interview

Provide assistance

intended for child victims of sexual abuse in their circle of trust,

once the criminal justice decision is taken

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Conclusions

The Council of Europe,in the Council’s guidelines on integrated strategies and on child-friendly justice, as well as in the

Council’s Lanzarote ConventionConsiders the Barnahus/ Children’s

house/ Child Advocacy Center - model as a best practicePromotes the model towards all the

member

states of the Council of Europe

Includes the main characteristics of the model in all relevant conventions, guidelines and awareness raising activities Claude Janizzi, COE Lanzarote Committee, 201713