Legislation is needed to punish parents who maltreat children

The courts of law in Moldova do not accept legal cases opened over abuse and use of violence against children by parents as the national legislation does not regulate this area. Therefore, legislation is necessary in order to improve the situation of children's rights, Alexandra Grajdian, the head of the public organization “Woman and Child - Protection and Support”, said Tuesday during a roundtable meeting organized by ombudsman for children's rights Tamara Plamadeala, Info-Prim Neo reports. “The number of cases of child abuse continues to rise even if the Center for Psychosocial Assistance to Child and Family “Amicul” makes efforts and carries out different activities, including awareness raising campaigns. The children understand what abuse is as they are deprived of the right to develop and grow up in a healthy environment. Thus, hundreds of children seek help from the Center,” said Veronica Protip, a social assistant with “Amicul”. Cezar Gavriliuc, the director of the Information and Documentation Center for Children's Rights, said that a group of children have monitored how their rights are respected in Moldova during a year. The children say that the beatings do not make them better. However, they are subject ed to violence in the family, on the street and even at school, where there should be a friendly environment. “The school is a place where the rights of the children are infringed as the teachers use violence as an educative method and intimidate and threaten the children with bad grades. The corporal punishment in the family is also used as an educative method,” Gavriliuc said. Ombudsman Tamara Plamadeala expressed her readiness to work together with the national NGOs and formulate a plan of action for easier identifying cases of child abuse. She said the existing statistical data do not show the real situation as many children are afraid to report cases of abuse or they don't know where to report them.