The second Barnahus Forum will take place on 12–13 June 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia. Held by invitation only, the Forum brings together selected Barnahus practitioners, policymakers and experts from across Europe and beyond. It offers a platform for the exchange of knowledge, tools and experiences, aimed at supporting high-quality, child-centred, multidisciplinary responses to violence against children.
Building on the inaugural Forum in Stockholm in 2022, the 2025 edition will explore a range of topics, including:
- Child protection – reviewing standards and identifying good practice
- Criminal justice – developments in interview protocols and evidence-based approaches
- Physical health – recent findings from practice
- Therapeutic interventions – including trauma screening and responses to harmful sexual behaviour
- Excellence in practice – efforts to develop a European evaluation framework
- Child participation – with emphasis on delivering appropriate information at the right time
Cross-cutting themes will include trafficking, online sexual violence, diversity, and integrated child protection systems.
The event is organised under the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), in cooperation with the CBSS’s Children At Risk Unit, the Barnahus Network, Barnahus Estonia, Child Circle, the Estonian Social Insurance Board (Sotsiaalkindlustusamet), and Marie Cederschiöld University. The forum is co-funded by the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.
PROMISE Soteria
“PROMISE Soteria” is a two-year project co-funded by the DG Justice European Commission and the project partners. The project aims to promote inclusive and resilient child protection systems. The project is led by the Council of the Baltic Sea States in partnership with CHILD CIRCLE and Marie Cederschiöld University.