Description
The project is designed for children and it addresses the issue of participation in legal proceedings. Its goal is to improve children's awareness of their rights and to make them better prepared for hearings and interviews they may be required to participate in during criminal or civil proceedings and to ensure a more child-friendly judicial process. The project will evaluate the quality of the enforcement of the right of children to be heard (court research, desk research and interviews) and then it will hold group discussions with children to jointly develop standards, education resources, social campaigns and training programmes based on the research findings. Further, to ensure better children's performance while interviewed during criminal proceedings, children will be involved in developing education resources, class scenarios, organising meetings and training sessions for professionals. The project will seek the contribution from professionals (seminars, campaigns), national partners (consultations, research) and international partners (seminar, study visit).
Summary of project results
"Convention on the Rights of the Child and Polish Constitution give children the right to express their views on matters that concern them. They may participate in legal proceedings, tell about circumstances of committed offence, express their opinions. Children perceive and describe reality differently than adults, they experience different feelings during legal proceedings. Representatives of the judiciary often do not guarantee them friendly participation in proceedings and rarely give them opportunity to be heard in civil proceedings. The aim of the project was to prepare children taking part in legal procedures for participating in hearings and to ensure a more child-friendly judicial process. It was also to prepare professionals for a proper contact with a child when he/she has been a witness/victim of committed offence or if he/she is to be heard in civil proceedings. Meetings and training sessions were conducted for 32 children to prepare them for testifying in criminal proceedings. 29 parents learned how to accompany their children during criminal proceedings interviews. Also 289 professionals were trained on how to interview children and on providing assistance to children. The first in Poland study on hearing and interviewing children in civil proceedings was prepared (legal expertise, examination of judicial documents related to child interviewed during proceedings related to parental authority, survey on opinions of children participating in hearings and interviews), as well as a study on children participating in criminal proceedings. Standards for hearing and interviewing children and recommendations for judges and expert psychologists were developed. Judges took part in training. An instructional video and guidebooks for children and youth and people involved in criminal proceedings were prepared. Two social campaigns were launched: “Thank you for hearing me"", “Hearing of a child is an art"". The project beneficiaries were children and youth participating in legal proceedings, their parents and legal guardians. The project partner, the Government Agency for Child Protection from Iceland, prepared a study visit in the Centre of Hearing of Children in Reykyavik. Three Polish partners cooperated in carrying out the project tasks and promoted the results locally: the Association for Children and Youth Chance, the Society for Helping Children and Families “Homini"" in Grudziądz and the Polish Association of Pedagogues and Animators Klanza."
Summary of bilateral results
The project organised a study trip of Polish experts to Iceland and a presentation by an expert from Iceland in Poland. The study trip to Iceland was completed by four participants who learned about the involvement of children in criminal proceedings, particularly in police interrogations and court testimonies. The visit was organised in partnership with the Icelandic project partner, the Government Agency for Child Protection. The participants visited the Government Agency for Child Protection in Reykjavik and met with Director General, Bragi Guðbrandsson; they learned about the agency and the national legislation regarding child protection against abuse. The high point of the trip was a visit to Barnahus, a child-friendly interrogation and support centre. The visit took place on 18 - 20 May, 2015. A seminar was organised in Warsaw on 20 October 2015 in the framework of the National Conference on Helping Child Victims of Crime. The seminar was led by Ólöf Ásta Farestveit, Director of Barnahus, how has a track record of 700 court hearings involving children at the age of 3 - 18. The Barnahus Director presented best practices in providing therapy to children who are victims of abuse, children participating in legal proceedings and support provided to children who are involved in legal action against people who inflicted harm on them.