A hearing is an interview where you describe what happened.
This page is part of the Guide for victims of domestic abuse under the age of 18.
If someone thinks you've experienced abuse, you'll talk to someone at Barnahús (Children's House) to figure out what happened. This is called a hearing. If you are 15 or older, your hearing will be at a police station. Child protection services or the police will ask for you to be interviewed, not your family.
Barnahús is located in Reykjavík and Akureyri.
Going to Barnahús is nothing like going to a police station. Barnahús just looks like a regular home. You can go for an interview in Reykjavík or Akureyri, whichever is closer to your home.
The questions in the interview are simple and clear. It is made sure that they won't make you think about something that didn't happen. You can trust the person asking the questions because they are specially trained to ask the best questions for these types of interviews.
All children are interviewed in a similar way, but still based on their age. For example, drawings are sometimes used for younger children. If you have any diagnosis, Child protection services will let Barnahús know. This is to help you feel as comfortable as possible during the interview.
In the interview, it's just you and a specialist from Barnahús who is experienced at these kinds of interviews. The specialist isn't allowed to do anything in the interview other than what they're supposed to do. There are very strict rules about that. The person talking to you just wants to find out what happened.
You won't have to go to court and talk there. Instead, your interview is recorded and then played in the courtroom.
The adult who is with you will be in a different room while you're in the interview. They won't watch or listen to it.
Since the interview is recorded and used as your testimony about what happened, certain people also need to be there. These people are watching in another room while you're being interviewed.
A judge needs to be there. They can talk to the person interviewing you through headphones. They only do this if there's something more they want to know about what happened.
There are also other people in the same room as the judge, that just watch the interview.
It varies how long children are in an interview. It can take 10 minutes or 2 hours. Sometimes two interviews are needed.
Once the interview is over, you can go to therapy sessions that also happen at Barnahús. If you live far from the capital area or Akureyri, someone will come to your place for the sessions. Then you'll start what's called trauma-focused therapy. This is to help you feel better. People who experience abuse often go through trauma and feel bad.
If you don't have signs of trauma, you can go to a psychologist that you and your trusted adult choose. They will support you through the therapy so you can feel better.
You can get a doctor to examine you at Barnahús. Sometimes, children who have been through something bad feel better knowing from a doctor that everything is okay with them. Pediatricians, nurses, or gynecologists are the ones who can examine you.
They don't look for evidence to use in court during this medical exam. However, doctors have sometimes shared certain findings from the exam in court when it was considered important.
Sometimes, an abusive act happens when someone is 14, and then 1–2 years pass before the case goes to court. By that time, you might have turned 15, and then you'll need to go to the courtroom. If that happens, you will have people with you for support, like a person you know from Child protection services and your legal rights protector.
