Webinar: A safe and informed Barnahus journey for children – the Journeys App

Worldwide children are exposed to a number of crimes. As much as half of all children globally experience violence each year. Barnahus offers a multidisciplinary and integrated approach for authorities and services to respond to child victims. A Barnahus can be described as a “one-stop-shop” or “one-window system”, which ensures a child-friendly environment in one location where professionals gather to provide rapid access to justice and quality care for child victims and witnesses of violence. The services are oriented at the needs of the individual child, with a strong focus on avoiding (re-)traumatisation. There is a need, however, to strengthen individual advocacy to ensure safeguarding of the child’s rights and its’ access to child-friendly information and participation in the process.

In a Swedish study, children who had gone through Barnahus were asked about their experiences of disclosing violence. According to them, feeling informed and knowledgeable, having a sense of control over the situation, and feeling connected to others rather than isolated, were key aspects of the disclosure process. These factors were also crucial in preventing further victimisation.

To enhance access to a child friendly, participatory process in Barnahus, Journeys has developed practical tools to inform children throughout their Barnahus journey. The aim of this webinar is to introduce one of these practical tools, the Journeys app, that is being developed to support children to have a safe and informed Barnahus journey.

In this webinar, you can expect a presentation and walkthrough of the app, including:

• Background: Why, for who, how?
• Child safeguarding concerns
• Child participation
• Feedback from Child Advisory Board
• The different sections – walkthrough of the prototype (3D interactive tour and the custom journey)
• Q&A

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