In a historic move to combat the global crisis of violence against children, ISO has unveiled the world’s first international requirements for child-friendly multidisciplinary and interagency response services. Announced jointly with the Permanent Mission of Iceland at the 58th United Nations Human Rights Council on 12 March 2025, this initiative aims to transform the way child victims receive care, protection and justice.
The statistics are staggering. UNICEF estimates that over one billion people experienced violence during childhood. Every four minutes, a child dies due to violence somewhere in the world. Meanwhile, 650 million girls and women – one in five – live with the trauma of sexual abuse. The consequences of such violence are devastating and lifelong, affecting brain development, mental and physical health, and a child’s ability to learn.
To tackle this urgent issue, ISO has developed the first-ever global guidelines for child-friendly services designed to support victims of violence. This groundbreaking document promotes a holistic, child-centred approach, creating a coordinated, trauma-informed response that spares young survivors from further harm.
At the heart of this initiative is a commitment to upholding children’s fundamental rights, said ISO Secretary-General Sergio Mujica, emphasizing that every child should receive the protection and support they deserve.
“With these new international requirements, ISO is establishing a global approach that ensures child victims receive the compassionate, coordinated support they need, without being retraumatized by the very systems meant to help them,” Mr Mujica said.
“The requirements establish a consistent global baseline for multidisciplinary and interagency services, ensuring that child protection efforts meet a high standard worldwide, while allowing for adaptability to different legal, cultural and social environments.
“These recommendations enable governments and frontline services, from social workers to law enforcement, healthcare professionals and legal entities, to collaborate efficiently, ensuring a global, standardized response to child victims of violence and abuse.
“We are proud to launch the requirements today at the 58th United Nations Human Rights Council. Importantly, the guidelines have been developed with the input of child abuse survivors, children and key global partners, making them a truly inclusive approach for addressing violence against children.”
The development of these guidelines was proposed by the Ministry of Education and Children of Iceland, a member of the Human Rights Council, and led by Icelandic Standards (IST) and the Swedish Institute for Standards (SIS). The process involved more than a hundred contributors, including the Icelandic Government, UNICEF, the Council of Europe, Europol, Eurojust, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the UN Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children.
Erna Kristín Blöndal, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Children in Iceland, said Iceland spearheaded the initiative to establish global standards for child-friendly services for victims of violence.
“These recommendations are rooted in the Icelandic Barnahús model (Children’s House), which provides a child-friendly, multidisciplinary and interagency approach to support children who are victims or witnesses of violence,” Ms Blöndal said.
“While this model has been widely adopted and endorsed by prominent international organizations, inconsistencies in its implementation across countries have emerged in recent years.
“The launch of today’s guidelines seeks to address these disparities by developing internationally recognized guidelines to harmonize the implementation of the Barnahús model, with the potential to incorporate conformity assessment processes in the future.
“Our hope is that this development will address challenges posed by fragmented services and emphasize the importance of integrated, holistic approaches to safeguarding children from further harm.”
UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, Regina De Dominicis, said, “Violence against children is pervasive, and the consequences are lifelong. Yet, the services and support children affected by violence receive are often substandard, compounding children’s trauma.
“This universal framework for child-friendly services has the power to change this through standardization of child protection models like Barnahús, ensuring that every child receives the same level of quality care and protection.”
The development of the recommendations was a truly inclusive process, shaped by the voices of children and survivors themselves. Through workshops led by Samfés in Iceland, their insights were directly incorporated, ensuring the final requirements and recommendations are grounded in real experiences and needs.
This initiative also reinforces global commitments to child protection, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – notably Target 16.2, which seeks to end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against children, and Target 16.3, which promotes equal access to justice for all.
The new requirements are freely available for download here.
For more information about ISO, visit www.iso.org.
