Anna Kaldal

Swedish Legal Scholarship Concerning Protection of Vulnerable Groups : Therapeutic and Proactive Dimensions

This paper presents a brief overview of the legal theoretical problems that arise in connection with the societal ambition of protecting vulnerable groups. One of the central difficulties in legislation with proactive and therapeutic ambitions arises from the link between law and philosophy of science, i.e., the relationship between facts and norms. It is shown that Therapeutic Jurisprudence differs in several aspects from Swedish legal scholarship that follows Scandinavian Legal Realism. It is also demonstrated that Therapeutic Jurisprudence has several similarities with the so-called Proactive Approach. This paper suggests that Therapeutic Jurisprudence may serve as a useful legal theoretical perspective in Swedish legal scholarship, especially when studying complex and vague regulations with a future focus. Two examples from Swedish legislation are examined: (a) Laws regulating compulsory care of abused or neglected children, and (b) laws related to the mentally ill. This paper illustrates the complexity in these acts, and poses the question of whether the regulations serve their purpose of providing adequate care for and protection of those in need.

Collaborating Against Child Abuse: Exploring the Nordic Barnahus Model

The chapter studies how the establishment of Barnahus in Denmark in 2013 has affected the ability of child welfare case workers to work holistically with abused children. The study presents a theoretical understanding of holistic social work and uses mixed methods to collect data from child welfare case workers within the vicinity of one Barnahus. The conclusion of the study is multifaceted because while the multidisciplinary approach of the Barnahus reflects the essence of a holistic approach, the specific legislation and organisation of the Barnahus represents a more reductionist perspective on social work. The main conclusion of the study is that Barnahus and the child welfare services embrace different holistic approaches to abused children.

Implementing the Nordic Barnahus Model : Characteristics and Local Adaptions

This chapter describes the background for, and implementation of, the Barnahus model within the Nordic countries. It highlights the core elements of the model and the specifics of the Nordic welfare state context relating to the child welfare and criminal justice systems. A contextual and comparative perspective is used to shed light on how the model is shaped by the legal and institutional context in which it has been implemented. Local adaptions of the Barnahus model, specific to each Nordic country, are also identified. Finally, the outline of the book, containing sixteen chapters divided into four broad themes, is presented.

Children's Right to Information in Barnahus

The child’s right to information is part of the child’s fundamental human right of participation and access to justice according to the CRC. The child’s right to information is also stated in the Swedish national guidelines for Barnahus and in Swedish national law. The child´s right to information is, however, connected to both legal dilemmas and dilemmas in practice. In this chapter, we discuss children’s right to participation from a child rights perspective in a criminal investigation in Barnahus.

Collaborating Against Child Abuse

The chapter studies how the establishment of Barnahus in Denmark in 2013 has affected the ability of child welfare case workers to work holistically with abused children. The study presents a theoretical understanding of holistic social work and uses mixed methods to collect data from child welfare case workers within the vicinity of one Barnahus. The conclusion of the study is multifaceted because while the multidisciplinary approach of the Barnahus reflects the essence of a holistic approach, the specific legislation and organisation of the Barnahus represents a more reductionist perspective on social work. The main conclusion of the study is that Barnahus and the child welfare services embrace different holistic approaches to abused children.

Epilogue: The Barnahus Model: Potentials and Challenges in the Nordic Context and Beyond

A key message from this chapter—and the book as such—is that the Nordic Barnahus model is a step in the right direction in terms of meeting victimised children’s needs and legal rights, and that it could be recommended as a promising practice for other countries. At the same time, it is not a quick fix. In light of the book contributions, this chapter discusses the potentials and challenges of the Barnahus model in the Nordic context and beyond. It highlights the importance of the Nordic welfare state context for the implementation of the model and discusses the different modes of governance that have developed around it. The chapter further describes how the implementation of the Barnahus model has led to the development of a new institutional field—the Barnahus field—and a corresponding field of multidisciplinary research.

Unaccompanied and Separated Asylum-seeking Minors: Implementing a Rights-based Approach in the Asylum Process

Unaccompanied and Separated Asylum-seeking Minors: Implementing a Rights-Based Approach in the Asylum Process

What’s in a Name? “Child-friendly” Justice in Africa

In Child-friendly Justice , world-leading experts on children’s rights analyse how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has strengthened children’s status in civil, administrative and criminal justice systems.

Children’s Houses – Barnahus: Today and in theFuture

Barnahus are based on the American Children’s Advocacy Center model, and have emerged in Sweden in the past ten years. The Swedish Barnahus model is a collaboration where the authorities responsible for a child who is the subject of a criminal investigation interact under one roof in a child-friendly environment. The joint investigative measures seek to optimize the quality of the investigations, interventions and treatment of the child. Today there are about 30 Barnahus around the country. They have developed differently depending on local conditions and engagement and the variation between them is great: they differ in terms of size, organization and financing. Common to all, however, is that the target group includes victims of both physical and sexual crime, that the police and the social services are represented, that the police interview is conducted there and that the interior is child-friendly. The overall aim of Barnahus is to let the best interest of the child be a primary consideration when a child is the subject of a police investigation, and to put the child’s needs at the centre, letting the authorities adapt to the child and not the other way around. The purposes of Barnahus are thus several. First they should create a child-friendly environment where the police interview, the medical investigation, the child protection services risk assessment and psychological treatment can be done in one place. Secondly, inter-agency cooperation under one roof should optimize the conditions for better quality in the police investigations, the risk assessment and psychological treatment of the child.