On 28 September 2022, a Roundtable was organised in Helsinki to present the two Analyses developed under the joint European Union/–Council of Europe project “Ensuring child-friendly justice through the effective operation of the Barnahus-Units in Finland”. Representatives from the EU DG Reform, the Council of Europe, and the Finnish National Institute on Health and Welfare led the event.

The first Analysis focuses on studying the current practices of professionals working with and for children and identifying their training gaps and needs. This Analysis will inform the type of capacity building activities that will be piloted within the project. The second Analysis focuses on reviewing the Finnish legal and policy framework concerning child sexual exploitation and abuse cases and offers recommendations to develop legal texts in order to ensure that pre-trial delays are reduced and that the best interests of the child is at the centre of the process.

Julia Korkman, Pekka Santtila, and Inka Lilja, the leading experts that have developed the Analyses, presented main findings and recommendations to the Steering Committee members and relevant Finnish policy makers. The presentation was followed by a discussion on the next steps of the project based on the recommendations.

 Legal review analysis of Finnish legislation concerning child sexual exploitation and abuse cases (English and Finnish)

 Analysis of current practices and identification of training gaps and needs of target groups (English)