Activities included in the project will lead to progressive changes in the practice of interviewing child victims, which experts from two participating countries recognize as a serious problem.

The goal of the project is to promote the idea of child-friendly interview rooms and to prevent secondary traumatization through preparing children for their participation in criminal procedures and through providing legal and psychological support for children and their families. The identified problem is lack of protection provisions for child victims participating in criminal procedures. In order to counteract the so defined problem actions such as promoting the idea of child-friendly interviewing rooms, offering support to children and their caretakers and changing the practice of interviewing children will be implemented within the frame of the proposed project.

Furthermore, prosecutors, judges, court guardians, and court experts do not have specialized knowledge of child psychology and of special ways for dealing with child victims, while opportunities to provide education in this area are seriously limited. As a response to that, the project proposes a solution promising improvement of the skills and competences of professionals (judges, prosecutors, police officers, and court experts) who participate in legal interventions and work with child victims through educational materials, workshops, conferences etc. offered to them. It is also a vital goal of this project to enhance these professional groups' sensitivity to the specific situation of children in criminal procedures, which are to be achieved as a result of the campaign.

Implementation of the project will also speed up the processes of improving the situation of child victims and conforming to the EU standards in this area. This project will improve the situation of child victims of crime through promoting child-friendly procedures and innovative (at least in the participating countries) methods of working with child witnesses.

Objectives of the project:

- Raising sensitivity and awareness among the professional groups' involved in legal proceedings with child victims and interviewing child witnesses;

- Popularizing and advocating for the model of interviewing child witnesses in child-friendly settings;

- Offering support to children and their caretakers;
- Speeding up the processes of improving the situation of child victims of crime in accordance to the EU regulations and requirements;

- Improving the practice of interviewing children;

Funding Organization:Trust for Civil Society for CEE