The first training facility for investigators specializing in the investigation of sexual crimes against children was inaugurated at the Bucharest Public Prosecutor's Office for the purpose of ongoing training in forensic interviewing based on the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development NICHD-R protocol, revised in by a team of international researchers. The space, equipped with the latest communication technologies, so that prosecutors and specialized police officers can continue the only in-depth training program in Romania in the field of investigating sexual violence against children, was set up by the Association for Victims of Sexual Crimes with the support of UNICEF Romania, as part of the project "Justice for child victims of sexual abuse".
A team of six prosecutors has been trained over the past year by Israeli researcher Irit Herskowitz, a professor of forensic interviewing at Haifa University. The Public Prosecutor's Office has seen a record number of referrals and shorter trials as a result of organising a special reporting and investigation circuit for suspected sexual violence against children.
Crimes involving sexual violence against children are difficult to investigate and require special skills on the part of investigators to ensure that disclosures are complete and proven in court.
Hundreds of international studies have shown that NICHD-Revised interviews not only help to obtain vital information for criminal investigations, but also to better protect children emotionally by identifying their particular needs and referring them to support services. But these skills gained through specialist training are lost in as little as six months if investigators are not involved in ongoing training programmes, international research shows.
The progress is visible: fewer but better trained prosecutors have prosecuted more cases and have solved them much faster. Mihaela Chiper, president of the Association for Victims of Sexual Crimes, says: "Prosecutors in Bucharest are considerably ahead of the rest of the country.
