Law Officers Visit Scotland's first Bairns Hoose
On a visit to the Bairns Hoose in North Strathclyde, the Lord Advocate, Scotland’s head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal and the Solicitor General have supported calls for a consistent national roll out of the model, to the highest standard possible, so that children and young people are not further traumatised by the care and justice system.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC and Solicitor General Ruth Charteris KC visited the Children 1st Bairns Hoose to hear about how the model operates, the difference it makes to children and to support further collaboration between the justice services, Children 1st and local partners from Police Scotland, Social Work and Health.
The Law Officers were given a tour of the Bairns Hoose, which opened in August 2023. Since then the Bairns Hoose has supported children to share their stories and begin their recovery in a trauma-informed and child-friendly space. Recording high-quality evidence with as much sensitivity and support as possible should mean that children who are victims or witnesses of crime do not need to continually repeat what has happened to multiple professionals. The overall aim is to improve systems of protection and justice so that children do not experience further or undue harm or delay.
The Bairns Hoose works through close collaboration with different agencies including Children 1st, local authorities, Police, COPFS , Courts, and Health. This multiagency approach means children can attend the Bairns Hoose to give evidence, receive medical care, take part in decisions about their care and protection as well as get support for recovering from what they have experienced.
The scale of harm children and young people in Scotland experience is significant. At least 37% of the 14,602 sexual crimes recorded in 2022-23 by police related to a victim under 18.
Children 1st has long campaigned for changes to the child protection and justice system, as children have consistently reported that the experience of going to court harmed them more than the abuse, they had experienced.
Across Scotland far too many children and young people continue to be retraumatised by their experience going to courts and there is an urgent need to act collectively to realise the Bairns Hoose ambitions across Scotland and honour the needs and rights of children and young people who are victims or witnesses of crime and harm.
Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC, said:
“Visits such as this are an opportunity for us to learn more about how the Bairns Hoose model operates in practice, and how it can improve the experiences of and outcomes for children who have experienced trauma.
“As prosecutors, we recognise that children who have been impacted by crime may be profoundly affected. We welcome the development of this new model which will support them and has been designed with their needs and views at its heart. We are committed to working with partners to support the on-going development of a new approach to care, protection and child-friendly justice.”
Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children 1st said: “Bairns Hoose is life-changing for many children across North Strathclyde who are now able to come to a child-friendly, trauma-informed space when the worst things happen to them. While we can’t always stop bad things happening to children and young people – we can do everything in our power to help them to recover.
“We welcome the support from the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General for rolling out the Bairns Hoose concept across Scotland because we believe every child in the country who needs it should have access to one.
“Children 1st will continue to argue that children should not be required to attend court, unless absolutely and unavoidably necessary. We are a long way from there, but we continue to work with hope and the determination that it can happen.”
