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Good practice Imported

Bjarkarhlíð — Reykjavík's Multi-Agency One-Stop Centre for Survivors of Violence

Iceland · Reykjavík · See the Iceland profile · See the Reykjavík profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 55% 63/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Since 2017, Bjarkarhlíð has co-located police, prosecutors, shelters and counselling services under one roof in Reykjavík so survivors of domestic, sexual and trafficking violence can get coordinated help in a single visit; it logged 978 initial interviews in 2022.

978 people
Initial interviews conducted (2022)
~88 %
Clients who are women (n/a)
~90 %
Clients who are Icelandic nationals (n/a)
9 organisations
Partner organisations co-located at the centre (since 2017)
Bjarkarhlíð — Reykjavík's Multi-Agency One-Stop Centre for Survivors of Violence

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Reykjavík City, Reykjavík Metropolitan Police & Ministry of Justice (9-partner consortium)
Period
2017–present
Region (NUTS)
IS001
Keywords
domestic violence, sexual violence, human trafficking, victim support, multi-agency co-location

Context

Bjarkarhlid ('Birch Slope') opened in Reykjavik in 2017 as Iceland's first family-justice-centre-style hub for adult survivors of violence, bringing together nine partner organisations inside a single municipal building.

Objectives

The centre lets survivors of intimate-partner violence, sexual violence and human trafficking meet a police liaison, a legal adviser and a counsellor in one visit rather than retelling their story at multiple separate agencies.

Activities

Services are free of charge and open to all genders, and since 2020 the centre has also run a dedicated human-trafficking response strand handling suspected trafficking cases involving victims from a dozen or more countries.

Results

In 2022, 978 people came to Bjarkarhlid for an initial interview, evidence of sustained demand five years after opening; roughly 88% of clients are women, about 90% are Icelandic nationals and around 60% are aged 18-40.

Conclusions

The City of Reykjavik commissioned an external review of the centre's first years from the University of Iceland's RIKK Institute (2020), and in 2026 the Icelandic government signed a new four-year funding agreement to continue and expand the work, though no randomised or comparison-group evaluation of client safety or wellbeing outcomes has been published.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — No published budget figures; sustained through municipal and government commitment, most recently a four-year funding agreement signed by the Icelandic government in 2026.
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — Opened 2017; human-trafficking response strand added 2020; four-year funding renewal signed 2026.
Staffing & skills
Police liaison, legal adviser and counsellor co-located on site, drawn from nine partner organisations including the Capital Area Police, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Welfare, the Women's Shelter, Stigamot, Drekaslod, Women's Counselling and the Human Rights Office of Iceland.

Conditions for success

  • Co-location of nine agencies in a single municipal building enabling a single-visit, multi-agency response.

Common failure modes

  • No randomised or comparison-group evaluation of client safety or wellbeing outcomes has been published.
  • The centre does not itself track case outcomes such as prosecution or re-victimisation rates.

Where it fits

Governance type
municipal multi-agency partnership
Scale
single-site (city)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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