The first center for children affected by violence in Ukraine opened in Vinnytsia region
Today, June 15, a pilot project was presented in Vinnytsia, based on the model Barnahus. Its purpose is to provide the necessary protection and socio-psychological support in the process of justice to children who have suffered or witnessed violence.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Ekaterina Pavlichenko noted that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and all units of the National Police are working to protect the rights and interests of children, to form a justice system that will be child-friendly.
Kateryna Pavlichenko gave statistics of the National Police, according to which for 4 months of this year, 1,470 crimes committed by minors and 1284 criminal offenses where children are victims were recorded.
“Despite the fact that there is a tendency to decrease this category of offenses, among them are crimes related to sexual assault, premeditated murder, and grievous bodily harm. In situations where a child has suffered or witnessed a crime, it is important to find such approaches that will help the child get out of this situation as quickly as possible, not to injure her even more. Those legislative initiatives that are being developed, including the Interdepartmental Coordination Council on Juvenile Justice, are aimed at implementing the best experience of other countries, providing professional assistance to children and speeding up the process of their rehabilitation,” she stressed Minister's wife.
Barnachus is an interdisciplinary specialized institution to carry out procedural actions in an environment friendly to the child and in environments that minimize the consequences of its traumatization. The center will provide social, psychological, legal, medical and other types of assistance to children — victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings related to violence.
To implement the idea to protect the rights of the child, specialists from various fields are involved - police investigators, juvenile police officers, prosecutors, lawyers, social workers and others.
In the premises of the center there are waiting rooms, interrogation, for the work of specialists, a kitchen, a medical center, a room for a multidisciplinary team.
Ekaterina Pavlichenko thanked the international partners for their cooperation. She expressed hope that the experience of Vinnytsia region, where the Barnahus system has been implemented, will be quickly and successfully implemented in other regions of Ukraine.
It is worth noting that the first center in Ukraine was created by the joint efforts of the UN Children's Fund Mission in Ukraine UNICEF, the Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, the International Charitable Foundation “Ukrainian Public Health Foundation” and the Interdepartmental Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice, which included representatives of the Ministry Ministries of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Policy Office of the Prosecutor General, Supreme Court, National Police of Ukraine, Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for Human Rights, Coordination center for the provision of legal assistance, other services and public organizations related to the protection of the rights of the child.
