Fostering Child-Friendly Legal Environments through Collaborative Networks – FOSTER (101160568 – JUST-2023-JACC-EJUSTICE)

The European project FOSTER – Fostering Child-Friendly Legal Environments through Collaborative Networks focuses on creating a child-friendly justice system, aiming to protect the well-being and rights of children who have been victims of crime.

The project’s key objectives include strengthening the skills of lawyers through specialized training on the legal framework for the rights of children and crime survivors, incorporating a trauma-informed approach in communication with child victims, and promoting cross-sectoral cooperation among lawyers, judicial authorities, state agencies, and Civil Society Organizations working in the field of child protection.

The FOSTER project is addressed to:

• Lawyers and judicial authorities,
• State agencies promoting children’s rights,
• Civil Society Organizations active in child protection and support for survivors of crime.

The project coordinator is the Centre for European Constitutional Law – Themistocles and Dimitris Tsatsos Foundation (Greece).

Project partners include:

• Society of Social Psychiatry P.Sakellaropoulos (Greece),
• Centre for the Study of Democracy – CSD (Bulgaria),
• Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre of Excellence – CSS (Hungary), and
• Institute of Criminology at the Faculty of Law – IK (Slovenia).

The project is co-funded by the European Union.

In the first phase of the project, a desk and a field research were conducted in four countries: Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Over 100 professionals (lawyers, social workers, doctors, NGO representatives, etc.) participated, sharing their experiences and highlighting the challenges they face in supporting child victims.

The findings were documented in National Reports and in the Training Needs Assessment Report (TNA Report), which serve as the basis for developing two targeted training packages:

• One for  lawyers – trainers, and
• One for lawyers representing child victims.

These training packages will address key topics such as child psychology, child-friendly and trauma-informed communication, data protection (GDPR), and the enhancement of cross-sectoral cooperation.

For more information and to read the reports:

Read the first newsletter of the project FOSTER – Fostering Child-Friendly Legal Environments through Collaborative Networks

The material of the Train of Trainers (ToT) training package, which is designed to equip future trainers with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to deliver effective and impactful trainings to lawyers on child-friendly justice, with a special focus on children who are victims of crime.

The material of the Training Package for Lawyers, which is designed to strengthen the capacity of legal professionals in effectively representing children who are victims of crime.

Supporting material for the training packages.

Guide for Lawyers Working with Child Victims in Criminal Justice Proceedings.

The guide supports lawyers working with child victims of crime by providing practical knowledge and skills for child-friendly, trauma-informed legal support and effective multidisciplinary collaboration, with the aim of safeguarding the rights and best interest of the child.

Guide for Trainers Delivering Capacity-Building Programmes for Lawyers on Child-Friendly Justice.

The guide supports trainers in designing and delivering training programmes for lawyers on child-friendly justice, trauma-informed approaches, and multidisciplinary collaboration. It provides practical methods and learning tools to help lawyers develop skills for approaching and supporting child victims through the perspective and needs of the child themselves.