This report is a presentation of the Systematic Forensic Medical Screening of Children in Cases of Suspected Physical Violence project. The project is a Danish co-creation and intervention project supported by funds from the Danish Victims Fund and set up as a cross-sectoral collaboration between the Danish Children’s Centre for the Capital Region, Section for Child Abuse at the Copenhagen Police, and the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen.

We know that only a minority of children are physically examined when a suspicion is raised that they have been subjected to violence in close relationships, even when the matter has been reported to the police and the child has subsequently been interviewed. We also know that, when a suspicion is raised of violence against a child, many sectors are involved. These include the municipality, the police, the Children’s Centre, health care services and forensic doctors. This requires a high degree of collaboration and coordination, and, if something needs changing, no single person can do it alone.

As professionals with specialised knowledge about violence and child abuse, we have a professional obligation to make active use of our knowledge when we can see that something could be done better. For this reason, the overall aim of the project has been to work together in developing and testing a new practice whenever suspected violence against children needs to be exposed and dealt with. We have done this promptly in order to document and contribute to the physical and mental health of children and ensuring due process. In contrast with existing practice, the intervention, the intervention offers systematic, standardised forensic medical examinations and screening by health care professionals in all cases of violence against children reported to the police in the Copenhagen Police District.

This report presents the findings and experiences of the project – including the execution of, and findings from, the forensic medical examination and screening by health care professionals, the promoting and inhibiting factors in the cross-sectoral collaboration regarding the children, and not least the children’s own experiences of the video-recorded investigative police interview and the forensic medical screening.Finally, the experiences in the report will be used to put matters into perspective, including recommendations on options for optimising practices in the field in Denmark.