The first ever Center for Psychological and Social Services for Children Victims of Violence launched in Georgia

Tbilisi, Georgia, 13 July 2022 – A new Center for Psychological and Social Services for Children Victims of Violence was opened in Georgia, aiming to protect children, victims of sexual violence, from re-traumatization and to bring investigative actions and rehabilitation into one space.

The Centre was opened in close partnership with the Agency for State Care and Assistance for the Victims of Human Trafficking of the Ministry of the Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labour, Health and Social Affairs with the support of UNICEF and the Government of Estonia. Other Government agencies involved in the development of the Centre include the Administration of the Government, Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Prosecutor’s office, Legal Aid Service and Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau.

The Centre aims to create a specific system that responds to the special needs of children who have been subjected to sexual violence or abuse. It also derives from the principle that the needs of children in these cases are totally different from those of adults in the same situation.

The centre will ensure that children and adolescents who have been exposed to sexual abuse and crime receive appropriate assessment, treatment and support. The parties involved in investigative and rehabilitation processes will gather in one space to avoid subjecting children to repeated interviews by many agencies in different locations.  Interviewing a child will be minimized and conducted by a professional who is trained in child-friendly approaches.

The Centre will have a child-friendly environment for investigative interviews which reduces the level of anxiety of the child. Professionals employed here are trained in the best practices of child welfare and protection.

“Today marks an important moment in Georgia’s response to violence against children. The Center for Psychological and Social Services for Children Victims of Violence offers an innovative approach which puts child’s best interests in the very heart of investigative process” - Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Representative in Georgia.

The center sets up the model where the justice and other systems work collaboratively to avoid re-victimization and re-traumatization of children. We are grateful to the Government of Estonia and we will continue supporting the Government of Georgia to bring the service in full compliance with the international standards and to provide children with the best protection and rehabilitation”, Khalil added.

This model has been working successfully for decades in the Nordic countries and is being implemented in 40 European states. The Georgia’s model is based on the Estonian example.

“With the support of the Estonian Government and UNICEF it became possible to open the Center for Psychological and Social Services for Children Victims of Violence which is based on the European model and confirms that the country aims at establishing high standards”, said Ms Mary Maglaperidze, Director of the State Care Agency of Georgia. “The Centre will improve the situation of children who became victims of such a heavy crime and were traumatized. The environment created at the Centre is oriented towards protection of the best interests of children and his/her individual needs as well as on rehabilitation and support. In collaboration with all the involved agencies, we continue working on establishing high standards and bringing all the services in one place became possible as a result of the coordinated work of all the agencies involved.”, said Maglaperdize.

Violence against children can have a lifelong impact on children’s lives. During the investigation of violence cases, children have to go through a long and stressful process at various institutions for interrogations, forensic, medical and other examinations. The evidence has shown that when this happens, it can be very traumatic for the child. This re-victimization can even have more harmful effects on the child than the abuse itself. The repeated interviews carried out by people that are not specifically trained in forensic interviewing are likely to distort the child’s account of events by suggestive questioning and have a detrimental effect on criminal investigations.