What is the Children's House and who is it for?

The Children's House is a space dedicated to supporting children who are witnesses or victims of sexual violence. Children referred to the Children's House receive professional help at a single location, in a child-friendly and safe environment. The main task of the Children's House is to protect the child and his or her family members or guardians who are not suspected of abuse.

Who refers a child to the Children's Home?

A child is referred to the Children's Home exclusively by the competent courts.

What is Barnahus?

The Barnahus model (Icelandic for "Children's House") is the leading European model for the treatment of child victims of sexual abuse, a unique multidisciplinary and inter-institutional approach that brings together all relevant activities of the criminal justice process under one roof, thus preventing the re-victimisation of children.

Where can we turn for help?

• In case of emergency or in case of danger, please contact the police intervention number 113! 113!
• The competent social work centre – first social assistance
• the "SOS telefon" helpline 080 11 55 . Pokličete lahko vsak dan, 24 ur na dan, lahko pa jim pišete na drustvo-sos@drustvo-sos.si
• the "TOM telefon" a telephone line for children and adolescents, www.e-tom.si. You can call 116 111 every day, including Sundays and public holidays, between 12:00 and 20:00, or send an e-mail to tom@zpms.si
• https://www.psih-klinika.si/koristne-informacije/klic-v-dusevni-stiski/
• Further information, questions and answers can be found in the publication of the Society for Nonviolent Communication 2017-preprecevanjeinprepoznavanjespolnihzlorabotrok.pdf (drustvo-dnk.si)

Glossary of Terms:

• Barnahus – an Icelandic term which translates as "children's house".
• Secondary victimisation – repeated or multiple treatment of victims of crime.
• Forensic interview – a forensic interview is an interview conducted in accordance with evidence-based practices and protocols that ensure the quality and quantity of evidence obtained. Forensic interviews are conducted by specially trained staff. Audiovisual recordings obtained during a forensic interview may be used as evidence in court.
• Multidisciplinary and Interinstitutional Approach (MDMI) – cooperation between different institutions. In the case of the Children's House, this involves cooperation between judicial, social and health institutions.

Flyers: