Desk review and documentation of EU practices

Highlights

Every child who is a victim or witness of violence has the right to protection, access to justice and recovery support, without delay, and in a safe, child-friendly environment. This report explores how European countries have developed multidisciplinary and inter-agency (MDIA) services to uphold these rights and meet each child’s needs. Within these services, professionals from child protection, social work, health, police and justice work together, often under one roof, following a “one-stop-shop” model. By coordinating interventions and reducing repeated interviews, these services aim to prevent revictimization and ensure a coordinated response centred on the best interests of the child. 

The report documents different models of organization and cooperation, highlighting lessons and quality benchmarks that can inform the development of services tailored to the context of Romania and Poland. These lessons underline the importance of specialized professionals, clear institutional responsibilities and sustainable financing in ensuring an integrated response to each child’s needs. 

The analysis was conducted within the project "Strengthening the response to violence against children through better informed policies and enhanced institutional capacity", funded by the European Union through the Technical Support Instrument, at the request of the National Authority for the Protection of Child Rights and Adoption within the Ministry of Labor, Family, Youth and Social Solidarity of Romania and the Ministry of Justice of Poland and implemented with technical assistance provided by UNICEF Romania and UNICEF Poland.