The CHILD Project Unveils EU-Level Policy Recommendations to Revolutionize Child-Friendly Justice and Forensic Interviewing
The CHILD Project – Towards a CHILD-friendly legal Order for Fair Justice Provision – has officially released its comprehensive EU-level policy recommendations aimed at fundamentally transforming how judicial, law enforcement, and care systems protect child victims of violence. Grounded in...
The recommendations are the culmination of an extensive Needs Analysis, which integrated an indepth literature review alongside national and transnational focus groups and interviews with key judicial and child protection professionals. This rigorous research resulted in nine National Reports and one Transnational Report detailing the systemic strengths and shortcomings across participating countries, serving as the definitive baseline for these urgent policy proposals.
Key Conclusions from the Session
1. Coordinated Response and Multi-Agency Action
- Legally Defined Frameworks: Establish clear, binding coordination mechanisms between police, justice, health, social care, and victim support services immediately after the first contact to prevent secondary victimization.
- Dedicated Case Management: Introduce localized "task forces"—comprising police, judicial, social, and specialized child support actors—under a rotating scheme, guided by strict confidentiality protocols.
- Expansion of Holistic Services: Scale up multidisciplinary, "all-in-one-place" models, such as Barnahus-type assistance, ensuring sustainable public funding and strong collaborations with certified third-sector organizations.
- National Action Plans: Require National and Regional Action Plans with measurable indicators that are reviewed at least every three years.
2. Immediate Protection and Support Services
- Early Individual Assessments: Guarantee early, mandatory, and child-specific needs assessments to dictate customized protection measures (e.g., data anonymization, videoconference hearings, and protection orders).
- Free Psychological Care: Enshrine immediate, free access to comprehensive medical, social, and specialized child psychological services funded by the State or social insurance.
- Equitable Rural Access: Deploy specialized training to rural educators and healthcare professionals to act as confidential "focal points" to manage safe referrals from remote areas to centralized agencies.
3. Standards in Child-Friendly Justice and Forensic Interviewing
- Trauma-Informed Trials: Prioritize child-victim cases to eliminate harmful delays under the monitoring of the Office of the Child Ombudsman, with accountability mechanisms up to the Supreme Court.
- Rigorous Interviewing Protocols: Limit the number of forensic interviews to what is strictly necessary to avoid re-traumatization. Interviews must be performed promptly using high-quality audiovisual recordings, evidence-based protocols, and only by universally accredited, certified professionals.
- Privacy Safeguards: Implement extreme penalties for any parties who intentionally or unintentionally leak sensitive information or abuse cases to the media.
4. Mandatory Training and Harmonized Data Collection
- Universal Professional Training: Mandate basic and continuous training regarding developmental psychology, trauma sensitivity, and EU-compliant reporting mechanisms for all front-line professionals.
- Comprehensive Data Systems: Develop harmonized national mechanisms to collect disaggregated data (including age, gender, relationships, and history of victimization) to effectively monitor the system’s child-friendliness and track the use of forensic interviews.
Aligning with the Future of EU Justice
The CHILD Project emphasizes that these recommendations are strategically aligned with emerging institutional frameworks, notably the revised EU Victims’ Rights Directive (2025) and the principles set out in Directive (EU) 1385/2024. By setting EU-level minimum standards, the Consortium seeks to create a consistent, rights-based, and compassionate judicial landscape across all Member States.
"Protection of minor victims of violence cannot be achieved through fragmented efforts. It demands a comprehensive, coordinated, and structurally funded ecosystem where the child’s voice is heard without causing further trauma"
About CHILD Project
CHILD – Towards a CHILD-friendly legal Order for Fair Justice Provision is an EU-funded initiative aimed at improving the judicial system for child victims and witnesses of violence. The project runs for 24 months and brings together professionals from various sectors to promote structural reforms, better collaboration, and advocacy for child-friendly legal frameworks across the EU.
https://childfriendlyjustice.eu/#home
