Services to protect child victims are yet poorly developed, study

24.04.2013 16:21
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The number of cases involving child victims examined in the legal system has increased. Even if the legislation protects these children, the conditions for questioning them leave much to be desired. This is the conclusion of the study “Child victims of offenses and legal procedures: case of the Republic of Moldova”, which was launched by the National Center for Child Abuse Prevention on April 24, IPN reports.

The Center’s head Daniela Samboteanu said that it is the first study of the kind made in Moldova. It analyzed the legal provisions concerning the participation of child victims of offenses in legal procedures. The study also includes the authorities’ answer to the problem of child abuse.

“The information included in the study was collected during November – December 2012. There were questioned 306 prosecution officers, prosecutors and judges and organized 11 individual interviews with representatives of the public administration and legal system bodies. There were analyzed 10 case studies about child victims of offenses,” said Daniela Samboteanu.

Diana Cheianu, director of the Sociopolis Investigation and Consultancy Center, said the study revealed that the psychological counseling services for child victims are yet poorly developed in Moldova. There weren’t set up special rooms for questioning children. 97% of the hearings are held in police stations, in ordinary offices. Under the international legislation, the child victim must be questioned only once, while in Moldova this is done for several times and this causes traumas to the child.

The authors of the study made a series of recommendations, including to prevent the child from meeting the abuser, to develop clear regulations regarding the psychologist’s participating in the questioning of the child, and to enable the judges and prosecution officers to specialize in cases involving child victims.

The study was carried out with the support of the United States Agency for International Development within the Moldova Civil Society Strengthening Program, which is implemented by FHI 360.