On the new approach to child-friendly hearings in judicial procedures and on the possibility of introducing the "Barnahus" model in Hungary - professional round-table conference in the Ombudsman's Office

Based on his own experience, Ombudsman László Székely deems highly commendable the earliest introduction in Hungary of the new, innovative method of interviewing children, based on the "Barnahus" model.  The Commissioner for Fundamental Rights invited the experts concerned to a meeting in his Office after having looked deeper into the results of a recent pilot project conducted in Szombathely adopting the Icelandic model.

According to the Ombudsman, who considers the protection of the rights of the child as one of his major responsibilities, society's attention has to be drawn not only to problems and improprieties, but also to good and even better practices and innovations in the field of fundamental rights. In the view of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the shocking cases of child abuse and harassment of recent months have clearly demonstrated that, in accordance with the principle of child-friendly justice, the existence and application of complex interviewing methods, keeping in mind the best interest of the child, are of major importance. The Commissioner pointed out that it may inflict grievous psychological harm on children if, at the hearings conducted by the authorities, they have to speak at least three-four times about the abuse and harassment they had to suffer, thus reliving the trauma.

In the spirit of both the Lanzarote Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse and the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child, the Ombudsman explicitly supports the earliest introduction of the Scandinavian "Barnahus model" in Hungary. During his working visit to Vas County, the Commissioner was happy to learn that the first steps had already been made in Szombathely to introduce the method based on the Icelandic model, taking into account the Hungarian specifics as well.

"Barnahus" means "children's house" in English. It is an interdisciplinary, multiagency, complex method ensuring the protection of the best interests and the enforcement of the rights of the child, which was first introduced in Iceland in 1999. There have been 120 Barnahus houses established so far in Europe, mainly in the Scandinavian countries, but the model has been operational for 15 years in Zagreb and Amsterdam as well. Twenty-four other European countries are planning to adopt the model, 12 of them, including Hungary, are really close to its implementation.

The Barnahus houses themselves are located in residential areas far from conventional interviewing facilities; their furnishing and colors are tailored to the needs of the individual age groups. The Barnahus model provides a framework not only for conducting hearings following pre-defined interviewing protocols, but also for continuous on-the-spot research and follow-up activities, as well as for performing methodological and training tasks. A virtue of the model is that, while serving the best interest of the child, it avoids the trauma caused by repeated interviews – the professionals concerned may perform their work together, conduct their investigations and provide support in crisis situations cooperating in a new way and in child-friendly format.

The keynote speech of the event was presented by one of Hungary's practical experts on the Barnahus model, Dr. Györgyné Lázár, clinical and forensic psychologist, coordinator of the pilot project launched in Szombathely with the European Union's support; it was followed by a round-table discussion. The invited representatives of professional organizations, ministries and state organs working in this field, child rights experts, judges and prosecutors and the participants of the Szombathely project reviewed the codification and institutional aspects of the possible domestic adoption of the Barnahus model. It was pointed out that the model should be incorporated into the Hungarian justice system whilst paying special attention to criminal procedural aspects and guarantees.