Statistics show the number of offenses committed against children rose considerably in 2017, being twice higher than in 2010. According to Daniela Samboteanu, head of the National Center for Child Abuse Prevention, about 20% of all the offenses against children are offenses of a sexual character, IPN reports.
In an interview for Radio Free Europe’s Moldovan Service, Daniela Samboteanu said she tends to believe that the phenomenon didn’t grow, but the rate of identifying cases grew significantly, also owing to the campaigns organized by social players, campaigns that are designed to encourage the young people to report cases or the professionals to identify these cases.
According to her, the rate of 20% does not necessarily reflect the reality. The real size of abuses against children could be hidden as many consider this subject is shameful and prefer to hush up the case. “I refer not only to parents, but also to education or medical institutions that consider this is a private problem and they do not have to intervene. These are rare cases, but we anyway have situations when cases of sexual abuse against girls become known only when the girls are six or seven months pregnant. No one saw nothing until then. This is a proof that the phenomenon is still hidden,” said the head of the National Center for Child Abuse Prevention.
She noted that in such a situation the informing of young people and, especially, of parents should be continued so as to prevent cases of sexual exploitation and sexual-commercial exploitation and to encourage those who go through a difficult situation to learn where they can report these cases and where they can receive assistance.
As regards safety online, the expert encouraged the young people to communicate with reliable persons and be attentive when they build relations with partners, with friends offline and primarily online and to take concrete measures when they are contacted by unknown persons, such as blocking of potentially dangerous discussions. It is also important to improve communication with parents, which is not a unilateral process.
