Bill on creation of child-friendly chambers sent to Government

The sexually abused, trafficked or maltreated children and those who witnessed scenes of violence are put in the situation of reliving the horror of those events when they are questioned by prosecutors, judges and especially during medical-legal examinations because Moldova does not yet have special rooms where the children can be questioned in the absence of the violator or abuser, the head of the Journalistic Investigations Center Cornelia Cozonac stated for Info-Prim Neo. ”The children who are witnesses or victims in a trial are not appropriately treated in the justice system. The children should be questioned by specialists so that they feel at ease and are able to answer the questions. There are no specialized psychologists who can at least stay near them. They usually call the teachers who are not specialists and may cause harm to the child rather than help him,” said Cornelia Cozonac, adding that the child-friendly chambers are necessary in Moldova. She considers that the children can be questioned in conditions of maximum security and psychological comfort in such chambers. Staying face-to-face with the attackers, the children cannot tell the truth as they are afraid. The civil society organizations made approaches to the Government in this respect, but there have been set up only two such chambers, which are situated inside head offices of NGOs. Cristina Melnic, the head of the Ministry of Justice’s General Legislation Division, said the bill with amendments to the Penal Code, which envisions creating child-friendly chambers, has been submitted to the Government earlier this week. Under the bill, the children under 14 will be questioned by judges in special rooms outfitted with audio and video recording equipment, through the agency of a psychologist. The underage witness and the specialist will be in a room, while the judge and the other sides participating in the trial in another room. The statements of the witness will be fully recorded. The bill providing for the creation of child-friendly chambers was drafted in February.