Blogs
The case for the Barnahus Model: Upholding children's rights to end childhood sexual violence
After offering my sincere congratulations to the Irish Government for their initiative to support child victims and witnesses of crime, I just had one question for them: “What was the point?” Why had they gone to such lengths? If you asked the Magistrate from Portugal “What is the point of a Barnahus?” You’d get a slightly different answer than if you asked the director of the Child Advocacy Centre in Alabama. Multidisciplinary interagency response models are a beautiful idea, bringing all the crucial aspects of the process to the child victim under one roof, but each agency, be it medical, law enforcement, judiciary, therapeutic, are all still just there to carefully extract, as sensitively as possible, whatever their department needs from the child. Police stations are for criminals - they are no place for a child. Courtrooms are for lawyers - they are no place for a child. For a growing number of child victims, there is progress. From the moment a child enters the Barnahus they can sense the warm supportive atmosphere of safety and dignity. The child feels cared for, and so they begin to learn that they have value in this world, because they witness that they are someone worth fighting for. The interview process happens only once, and the child feels believed. For every child that comes through a Barnahus door, something they could not even have imagined has already been done to them. Essentially, it doesn't really matter what colour we paint the walls, or how many cosy sofas we install, there is no part of this process that a child finds “friendly”. It’s taken me a few decades but I can really see it now, the point of a Barnahus, and it’s purely a matter of rights. I mean it’s up to us , the adults, every single person reading this, to do everything within our power to see children’s rights are upheld and a key tool in this fight is Barnahus, because it is the most effective way to help these wounded little ones find the way back to their path, towards the future that was stolen from them.
Una lucha de 25 años por la justicia: Las victorias históricas de Jose Enrique Escardó Steck para los sobrevivientes e infancias en Perú
Durante 25 años, Jose Enrique Escardó Steck (JEES) ha luchado por la justicia, no solo para él, sino para innumerables sobrevivientes de abuso en Perú y Latinoamérica. La decisión del pontífice llegó después de una investigación iniciada en julio del 2023 sobre abusos sexuales, físicos y psicológicos, así como sobre mala gestión financiera dentro del SCV, una organización profundamente arraigada en los círculos conservadores de élite en Perú. Para Escardó, quien fue el primero en denunciar estos abusos a través de una serie de seis artículos en la revista peruana Gente en el año 2000, este momento fue tanto surrealista como profundamente significativo. Su testimonio fue clave en la histórica recomendación del CRC el 31 de enero: "Perú debe establecer una investigación estatal formal e independiente sobre los abusos sexuales infantiles dentro de la Iglesia Católica. Este es un momento crucial, no solo para Perú, sino para el movimiento global que busca hacer responsables a las instituciones por los abusos contra la niñez.
A 25-Year fight for justice: Jose Enrique Escardó Steck’s landmark victories for survivors and children in Peru
For 25 years, Jose Enrique Escardó Steck (JEES) has been fighting for justice—not just for himself, but for countless survivors of abuse in Peru and Latin America. His audience with Pope Francis was a moment of validation—not just for him, but for all survivors and allies who have joined JEES in all these years and fought for justice despite systemic silence and repression. His testimony played a key role in the CRC’s historic recommendation on January 31: "Peru must establish a formal, independent State-led inquiry into child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. This is a landmark moment—not just for Peru, but for the global movement to hold institutions accountable for child abuse. It sets a precedent for government responsibility in ensuring justice for survivors, rather than leaving the process solely in the hands of the Church.
Building a Safer Digital Future for Kids: The Heat Initiative Story
For us, that meant putting pressure on companies that enable and profit off of child sexual abuse, starting with Apple. As we surveyed the online child safety space, we saw an opportunity to build a new brand of activism – one that borrowed from the playbook of other successful movements and leveraged a corporate campaign model to shift the ways Big Tech approaches child safety. Now, child users who face unsafe or unwanted sexual interactions in iMessage can get help more easily. Apple is facing a billion-dollar lawsuit that claims the company didn't do enough to stop child sexual abuse material from being stored on iCloud. The plaintiffs are survivors of child sexual abuse whose abuse was recorded and shared online, spreading across both the dark web and everyday platforms. In March of 2024, our team asked Marsh Law, a 17-year-old firm that focuses on representing victims of child sexual abuse, if it could bring a suit against Apple.
We all have a role to play in ending childhood sexual violence
Child sexual abuse is a silent epidemic that affects millions of children across the globe. 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 7 boys will experience some form of sexual violence before their 18th birthday. Survivors are at significantly higher risk of physical and mental health challenges, with many struggling to survive beyond the age of 50 due to chronic illnesses, depression, or, tragically, suicide.
Breaking the silence: a survivor’s fight for collective transformation
One of the most painful aspects of this crime is that victims and survivors carry shame and guilt, partly because the abuser is often someone close to you, someone in whom you place your trust.
Rompiendo el silencio: la lucha de un sobreviviente de violencia sexual en la infancia por una transformación colectiva
Una de las características más dolorosas que tiene este delito, es que las víctimas y sobrevivientes nos cargamos de vergüenza y de culpa, en parte a causa de que el agresor suele ser una persona cercana y en quien vos depositás tu confianza.
Apple: Take Action to Keep Kids Safe
Last week, The Heat Initiative supported survivors in filing a $1.2 billion class action lawsuit against Apple, to hold the company accountable for their role in the proliferation of CSAM on their platforms. In response to a recent article highlighting the story of one of the plaintiffs, the Heat Initiative said,