The Ombudswoman for Children’s Rights Maia Bănărescu turned her attention to the case of the teenage girls involved in volunteering activities at a placement center for refugees in Chisinau, who were allegedly harassed sexually by an employee of the Botanica district head’s office, as the press reported. The ombudswoman will make the necessary approaches to the responsible authorities, IPN reports.

According to Maia Bănărescu, the state, by ratifying the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention), undertook to prevent, protect and fight against all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse against children and to set up a special monitoring mechanism. “The national legislation on the protection of the rights of children provides that the suspect cases of sexual exploitation and/or sexual abuse against children need to be examined,” says a press release issued by the ombudswoman.

According to the press, the incident happened in March. Three teenage girls who went to work as volunteers at a placement center for Ukrainian refugees in Chisinau were reportedly touched by an employee of the Botanica district head’s office on intimate parts of their body.