Partners

• Social Welfare Services
• Hope for Children
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth
• Cyprus Police

Description

In operation since September 2017, this project was developed in line with the Icelandic Barnahus model for child-friendly good practice. It offers child victims of sexual abuse direct access in one location to all services needed for the handling of sexual abuse incidents. The aim is to reduce the risk of re-victimisation and stigmatisation and enable the safe and efficient management of incidents in a child-friendly environment. The Social Welfare Services assigned the operation of the Children’s House to the non-governmental organisation Hope for Children. The running of the house also involves the police, the Social Welfare Services, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth. This cooperation is based on a memorandum of understanding signed between Hope for Children and every partner to this project.
Cases of sexual abuse are referred to the Children’s House by either the police or the Social Welfare Services, following which a social worker conducts a needs assessment and compiles a plan for support, which should be provided to the child and/or their family following a house visit when needed. Since 2019, the Children’s House has been connected with the courts through a teleconferencing system, which enables children to testify in court in cases of sexual abuse and exploitation while remaining in the Children’s House.
The project brings together all relevant services using a multidisciplinary and interagency approach, aiming to ensure that the safety and well-being of the child is aligned with their best interests and their right to be heard and receive information without delay.