The PANDA Center for the Protection, Advocacy and Recovery of Children, dedicated to the memory of staunch child rights advocate Denys Monastyrsky and established based on the Barnahus model, has begun operating in one of the communities of Kyiv region, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration and the Ministry of Justice reported.
"Children should not have to face war, cruelty or pain. But when tragedy strikes, our main human task is not simply to find those responsible, but to protect the child's psyche and not hurt them a second time. A warm, safe space has been created here, where psychologists, medical professionals, lawyers and law enforcement officers come together around the child," Kyiv Regional Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko, who attended the center's opening on Saturday, wrote on Telegram.
According to him, more than 13,000 children in Kyiv region have found themselves in difficult circumstances, and more than 11,000 of them have suffered as a result of the war.
National Police Deputy Head Andriy Nebytov also attended the opening of the center.
"At the center, police officers, medical professionals, psychologists and social workers will provide comprehensive assistance to children who have suffered from violence, human trafficking and war crimes. The center will operate according to the international Barnahus model: necessary investigative procedures and assistance will be provided in a single safe, child-friendly environment to prevent the child from being traumatized again," the National Police said in a statement on Telegram.
According to the National Police, about 800 children have suffered from sexual violence, rape, sexual harassment and sexual abuse this year alone. Another 65 children have been recognized as victims of human trafficking.
"We must not only ensure that those responsible are inevitably punished. It is fundamentally important to return the child to a normal life," Nebytov said.
Ukraine's Justice Minister Denys Maslov, who also attended the event, explained that one of the key problems in the child protection system for children who have experienced violence is that a child often has to recount their painful story again and again to different specialists – an investigator, doctor, psychologist, and so on.
According to him, Ukraine is working to change this approach. This involves implementing the Barnahus model, which makes it possible to bring the necessary procedural actions together in a single child-safe environment. The main principle is to minimize repeated traumatization and create conditions in which the child does not have to repeatedly recount what they experienced.
The PANDA Center has 30 places for the safe accommodation of children and is capable of assisting about 500 children per year. It is equipped with specialized rooms for interviewing children, observation and conducting forensic medical examinations.
"This model should become the standard. We are working on this together with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. The Ministry of Justice will also cooperate with the PANDA team to study this experience and further scale it up across Ukraine," Maslov said.
"For our region, this project is fundamental. Integrating the Barnahus model at our regional center for social and psychological rehabilitation is a joint decision and responsibility for the benefit of high-quality rehabilitation of children," Tkachenko stressed.
