Before 1972 the most used method in Danish group homes were corporal punishment. But in 1972 the authorities intervened and ordered the most well-known facility Godhavn to stop this approach and start using a more humane approach.
Still some treatment facilities and group homes continued to see at-risk teenagers as some individuals they had to break down leaving no methods unused. If breaking them down meant beating them up it was accepted.
Recently the police have conducted an investigation into a treatment facility known as Solhaven.
A complex case involving the use of gifts to the local police in order to make them look the other way took more than 2 years to handle in court.
Today the case came to a conclusion. The employees and the management of Solhaven were acquitted. It is basically a decision which revert the treatment approach used in Danish group homes and treatment facilities back to the time before 1972.
The legacy of Solhaven is that the methods used in the 1960s at Godhavn were acceptable even viewed with modern knowledge about the complexity of the problems teenagers of today face.
There is time for an appeal but there is also time for new legislation.
Based on this ruling there is no protection for a child placed in Danish group homes and treatment centers left. Maybe protection of these vulnerable teenagers is too much of a task for the Danish government. Maybe human rights agencies down at the European Union should set some standards for Denmark to follow.
Source:
Dom i Solhaven-sag: De tiltalte frifindes (Danmarks Radio)
Still some treatment facilities and group homes continued to see at-risk teenagers as some individuals they had to break down leaving no methods unused. If breaking them down meant beating them up it was accepted.
Recently the police have conducted an investigation into a treatment facility known as Solhaven.
A complex case involving the use of gifts to the local police in order to make them look the other way took more than 2 years to handle in court.
Today the case came to a conclusion. The employees and the management of Solhaven were acquitted. It is basically a decision which revert the treatment approach used in Danish group homes and treatment facilities back to the time before 1972.
The legacy of Solhaven is that the methods used in the 1960s at Godhavn were acceptable even viewed with modern knowledge about the complexity of the problems teenagers of today face.
There is time for an appeal but there is also time for new legislation.
Based on this ruling there is no protection for a child placed in Danish group homes and treatment centers left. Maybe protection of these vulnerable teenagers is too much of a task for the Danish government. Maybe human rights agencies down at the European Union should set some standards for Denmark to follow.
Source:
Dom i Solhaven-sag: De tiltalte frifindes (Danmarks Radio)
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