The ombudswoman for children’s rights Maia Bănărescu said the amendment of the penal and contravention legislation for ensuring the protection of teaching staff against threats and acts of violence against them is inopportune. According to her, the proposed changes will not contribute to reducing violence and to creating a safe and child-friendly environment at school. Also, establishing the status of child-aggressor in relation to teachers is inadmissible, IPN reports.
In an opinion note, the children’s ombudswoman says the child abuser is himself the victim of an act of violence or of the development circumstances and thus needs remedying measures to overcome the situation of risk. The proposed amendments will not bring additional protection to teachers given that the penal and contravention legislation stipulates punishment for acts of aggression committed against all the persons, regardless of their status. The lawmakers also specified the age from which a child can be held accountable.
Maia Bănărescu suggests merging this bill with another bill proposed by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection, which refers to sexual harassment and violence in education institutions. Supplementing Article 7 of the Education Code with the principle of non-violence in the education process will lead to the working out of specific regulations for banning any forms of violence and for all the subjects from school: students, parents, teachers, psychologists and other employed persons with non-teaching jobs.
The bill to amend the penal and contravention legislation and include regulations that would ensure the protection of teaching staff against threats and acts of violence against them was proposed by Democratic MPs Monica Babuc, Igor Vremea and Pavel Filip. The bill is examined by the parliamentary commissions. It provides that the act of hooliganism against teachers is an aggravating circumstance that entails harsher punishment - fine of 37,500 lei to 67,500 lei or up to five years in jail, according to Article 285, paragraph 2 of the Penal Code.
