Second Roundtable under project ‘Implementing the Barnahus model in Croatia‘

As part of the joint project of the European Union and the Council of Europe "Implementing the Barnahus model in Croatia", carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, the Second Roundtable was held in Zagreb on 27 May 2025, gathering key national stakeholders and leading international and national experts. 

During the roundtable, the key deliverables developed within the project were presented and discussed with more than 70 participants. They include the following documents: 
 

In the introductory part, the participants of the Roundtable were addressed by Ana Kordej, Acting Director-General for Criminal Law at the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, Rima Joujou, Resident Country Coordinator of the European Commission's Reform and Investment Task Force (SG Reform), and Zaruhi Gasparyan, Head of Cooperation and Capacity Building Unit within the Children’s Rights Division of the Council of Europe. 

At the first panel, Ivana Celio Cega, an independent human rights expert, presented the Report on procedures and protocols supporting an inter-service agreement between ministries and other stakeholders which includes a Memorandum of Understanding on implementing the Barnahus model in Croatia, which will be signed by high-level representatives of all institutions involved in the future Barnahus. 

In the second morning panel, participants exchanged views with international experts Liisa Järvilehto and Tom Pakkanen from Helsinki Barnahus, who developed a Roadmap including a Cost Structure Analysis for the implementation of at least four Barnahus units across Croatia - first a central unit in Zagreb and later an extension to three more regional units. This strategic document was developed in close cooperation with the members of the project Advisory Group representing all institutions involved in the future Barnahus. 

Experts from Ipsos Croatia - Tatjana Petrović, Lana Penezić and Mirna Cvitan - shared the results of a national survey examining public understanding and attitudes towards child sexual abuse. These results will serve as a basis for future awareness-raising campaigns and communication strategies in Croatia. 

The final remarks stressed the importance of continued cooperation between government authorities, civil society and international partners. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, the European Commission and the Council of Europe highlighted the next steps, including the preparation of a Change Management Plan to ensure a sustainable implementation of the Barnahus model across Croatia, the development of training activities and guidelines on the spatial organisation of Barnahus units. 

 

The project, co-financed by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument and co-financed and implemented by the Council of Europe in close cooperation with the Croatian Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation, is a key initiative in Croatia to offer comprehensive child-centered services under one roof - a model that has already been successfully adopted by several European countries.