Violence on children is hidden and neglected in Moldova

In Moldova, two in ten children are subjected to verbal violence in families, as one in four is beaten, if he/she is not obeying, shows a most recent research by UNICEF on the violence on children. It was presented on Tuesday in Chisinau at national conference bearing the name “The Phenomenon of Violence and Trafficking in Human Beings – Consequences of Gender Inequality in Society,” Info-Prim Neo reports. According to experts, the violence on children is a hidden, unknown and underestimated problem. This happens because, according to the UN Global Report on Violence, the people do not trust authorities and consider the legal system does not intervene to solve such cases efficiently, although the Parliament passed a law preventing violence in families, last year. Moreover, according to specialists, Moldova totally lacks specialized services to assist the ill-treated children. They are afraid to speak about acts of violence committed on them, while society still accepts to discipline children through violent methods, especially psychological, the report finds. Moldova is among those 17 states having banned the violence against children. World statistics, considered from the gender perspective, assess that in 2002 only, 150 million girls and 73 million boys were forced into sexual relations and were subjected to other forms of sexual violence. Studies concerning 21 mostly developed countries show the girls have been abused 1.5-3 times more often than boys, as most of the abuses occurred within their families. 82 million girls marry before reaching 18 , show different earlier researches. The children are not spared of violence in school, too. A research by UNICEF finds that three in ten interviewed children say they have been verbally aggressed by teachers, but in case of one child in ten, the teachers applied physical correction methods. Psychologists say teachers' rigidity, categorialness, indifference, and their inhibition to communicate and inability to overcome conflict situations by pedagogical means are obstacles in the relation with pupils, as the consequences of their aggression are not to be neglected: children lose trust and respect for own personality, are afraid of teachers and school, and even become aggressive. The violence shall be prevented and identified in all the environments it may occur: families, schools, nursing units, and every child shall benefit of protection and assistance, psychologists find. They recognize however the mentality of whole society should change, to improve the situation.