The ENCLAVE PROJECT – Enhancing the capacity of legal & justice professionals on forensic interview procedures for child victims and witnesses of violence

The 2012/29/EU Directive establishes the rule of an individual assessment for all victims of crime in all EU Member States, considering the personal characteristics of the victim and the nature and special characteristics of the crime, expressly mentioning sexual violence. However, children victims and witnesses of abuse are often re-victimized by justice systems that are not adequately responsive to their rights and needs. Poor implementation of the forensic investigation tackles the welfare of a child due to the lack of adequate training of the legal and justice professionals as well as of the victims’ support services, regarding specifically procedures regarding forensic interviews.

The EU funded project “ENCLAVE – Enhancing the capacity of legal & justice professionals on forensic interview procedures for child victims and witnesses of violence” started on the 1^st February 2021, and it will last 24 months.

The overall aim of the ENCLAVE project is to foster impactful changes in criminal proceedings to introduce and mainstream an effective and coherent implementation of the protocol for the forensic interview for children abuse, in order to prevent the re-victimization of children.

The project is based on the great experience and professional background of the partners, consolidated over many years of activity in the field of support to victims of crime, and of violence and sexual crimes in particular. The partners’ experience has been strengthened by their participation in numerous projects funded by the European Union in this field. Furthermore, ENCLAVE counts on significant synergies with the RE-TREAT and FAIRCOM projects, with which constitutes a continuum in the context of legal support for victims of crime.

The Union of Women Members’ Associations of Heraklion Prefecture – UWAH (Greece) leads the project, in partnership with

• EuroCrime – Research, Training and Consulting SrL (Italy),
• University of Crete (Greece),
• “Carlos III” University of Madrid (Spain),
• Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium),
• Women’s Support and Information Centre NPO – WSIC (Estonia).

Work planned & main outcomes

• Analysis of the data regarding criminal cases, and mapping of the protocols adopted for forensic interviews in cases of children violence and abuse,
• Identification of the training needs of stakeholders engaged with forensic investigation and update of the forensic interview protocol in cases of children violence and abuse,
• Training of legal, justice and victims support professionals and practitioners,
• Scaling up and advocating for the mainstream use of the process in five European countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Estonia).

Results & impacts

• Increased capacity of legal and justice professionals on the application of the protocol of forensic interview with children victims and witnesses of violence and abuse in the abovementioned five European countries,
• Improved services provided by the victim support organisations in Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Estonia, by increasing their capacity on providing support services to children victims of violence and abuse and their families,
• Contribution to the introduction and incorporation of the protocol for forensic interview in cases of children violence and abuse as a mainstream activity in cases of children victims and witnesses of abuse in Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Estonia, and at the EU level,
• Advocating for compulsory capacity building for corresponding professionals involved in criminal proceedings concerning children violence and abuse.

The ENCLAVE project has just started – we will keep you updated on its progress and achievements, and we will provide the link to the official website and social media channels very soon!

Co-funded by the European Union Justice Program (2014-2020)

Grant Agreement: 101005464 — ENCLAVE — JUST-AG-2020 / JUST-JACC-AG-2020

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