Bairns’ Hoose: How Scotland could be on the cusp of transforming the justice system for children and young people.

Open Justice Centre Intern Teah Zdanowicz writes about Bairns' Hoose in this blog written for Open Justice Week.

In 1998, Iceland introduced the first Barnahus (derived from the Icelandic word for ‘children's house’) by Bragi Guðbrandsson, who was the director of the Government Child Protection Agency. Barnahus was originally inspired by the Child Advocacy Centre Model first established in the US in 1985. This model sought to create a child friendly environment where forensic interviewing, medical examination and treatment could occur without retraumatising children who had experienced physical or mental abuse. Unlike the US, Barnahus is integrated into the public welfare and judicial system with funding provided by the government making it a public organisation with legal standing.

Barnahus is described as a ‘child-friendly, interdisciplinary, and multi-agency centre’(1) which aims to support children who are victims and witnesses to crime. The aim of the Bairns' Hoose is to create a home like environment which provides one location in which the work of the courts, police and social workers can happen under one roof. Normally if a child or young person is a witness or a victim of crime, they would have to visit numerous different locations to engage with different services, often having to recount their experiences several times causing significant trauma. Bairns' Hoose aims to centralise all these services into one location, which will reduce the number of times a child or young person must recount their traumatic experiences. Importantly Bairns' Hoose will be a place for children, young people, and their families to receive the therapeutic care, support and recovery services to ensure they have the best opportunity to thrive in life. (2)

Bairns' Hoose will include 4 rooms:

Child protection

This room will allow police and social workers to listen to/record the child or young person's experiences in a kind and compassionate manner. Here measures will be implemented to ensure they do not have to retell their experiences multiple times. The information given will inform the safety planning for the child and any other children involved to effectively reduce harm.

Police Investigation and Court proceedings

For any person of any age the court process can be traumatising, especially for young victims. Bairns' Hoose enables the recording of investigative interviewing which can be used as evidence in-chief if the child needs to give evidence for a case related to them. Bairns' Hoose can also support children to be cross-examined ahead of a live case and ensure that ‘cross- examination is relevant, age appropriate, trauma sensitive and asked in a way that the child will be most likely to understand.’ (3) Importantly, this can and will occur under the roof of Bairns' Hoose meaning children can complete the justice process in a familiar and supportive environment.

Health

In a child friendly environment, specially trained doctors can carry out non-acute forensic examination. Children can also be supported to access other health services in a timely manner.

Mental wellbeing and recovery support

Possibly the most important of all the rooms, mental wellbeing will support children, young people, and their families to access therapeutic care without long delays. This service will be tailored to the needs of the person and will be carried out professionals trained specifically in trauma. (4)

In 2021, the Scottish Government made a commitment that Bairns’ Hoose to be available to all children who need it by 2025 (5). Children 1^st, Scotland's National Children Charity stated that evidence and experience has shown that in Scotland ‘children and supportive families’ experiences’ of the justice system ‘are too often traumatic, confusing, intimidating, silencing, and disempowering’. To add to that Children 1^st also stated that children and their families ‘rarely receive timely and appropriate therapeutic support’ after being a witness or victim of a crime (5). Reform to the Scottish justice system has been long awaited. Many children who have experienced the justice system often report that their right to be heard in judicial and administrative proceedings is not upheld. This means that the Scottish Government is failing to meet the standard required by Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child, which the Scottish Government has made a commitment to integrating into Scots Law. However, the Scottish Government has committed to taking a rights-based approach to Bairns' Hoose and will ensure that the requirements of the UNCRC are fulfilled going forward. (6)

Data from 2019-2020 showed that 12,934 child protection investigations were conducted in Scotland (7). These worrying figures show exactly why the Bairns' Hoose model is desperately needed. However, it is important to recognise the significance of services like Bairns' Hoose that provide support after witnessing or experiencing a crime. It also important to question how we as a society address and protect the number of children and young people who are abused. This is a difficult issue to tackle. There are multiple issues connected to this issue from alcohol and drug abuse to the cycle of abuse/ trauma present in many families and the current mental health crisis within the UK. What we need to strive for is a more compassionate society that is fully committed to protecting the rights of children and young people.

Reference List

1. Hill, Louise. O’reilly, Anna. Dhillon, Rachel. O’Donnell, Claire. ‘Sharing Stories for Change: Impact report’. (2021) Childrens 1^st. Avaible at: sharing-stories-for-change-impact-report-december-2021.pdf (children1st.org.uk) (accessed 29^th of May 2023)

2. Childrens 1^st. ‘Barins Hoose in more detail’. (2023) Available at: Bairns Hoose in more detail | Children 1st | Children 1^st (Accessed 31^st of May 2023)

3. Childrens 1^st. ‘Barins Hoose in more detail’. (2023) Available at: Bairns Hoose in more detail | Children 1st | Children 1^st (Accessed 31^st of May 2023)

4. The Scottish Government. ‘Bairns' Hoose - Scottish Barnahus: vision, values and approach’ (2023)

Available at: Bairns' Hoose - Scottish Barnahus: vision, values and approach - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) (Accessed 1^st of June 2023)

5. Hill, Louise. O’reilly, Anna. Dhillon, Rachel. O’Donnell, Claire. ‘Sharing Stories for Change: Impact report’. (2021) Childrens 1^st. Avaible at: sharing-stories-for-change-impact-report-december-2021.pdf (children1st.org.uk) (accessed 29^th of May 2023)

6. The Scottish Government. ‘Bairns' Hoose - Scottish Barnahus: vision, values and approach’ (2023)

Avaible at: Bairns' Hoose - Scottish Barnahus: vision, values and approach - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) (Accessed 1^st of June 2023)

7. Hill, Louise. O’reilly, Anna. Dhillon, Rachel. O’Donnell, Claire. ‘Sharing Stories for Change: Impact report’. (2021) Childrens 1^st. Avaible at: sharing-stories-for-change-impact-report-december-2021.pdf (children1st.org.uk) (accessed 29^th of May 2023)

Teah Zdanowicz