“According to him, criminal proceedings have been opened, in particular under Part 3 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: “sexual violence against a minor””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“I received information about possible physical, psychological and sexual violence against children by the director of an educational and rehabilitation institution in the Lviv region. As a matter of urgency, I initiated a monitoring visit, which was attended by representatives of the National Social Service of Ukraine and partners – psychologists from the Charity Fund “Voices of Children”, “SOS Children’s Villages” and the Office of Children and Youth “DiyMO”, Lubinets wrote on Facebook .
According to the ombudsman, the institution in question accommodates the most vulnerable categories of children: orphans, children deprived of parental care, children in difficult life circumstances, and children with special educational needs.
“We have recorded children’s testimonies that the director of the institution performed sexual acts against the girls who were in charge of the institution, publicly humiliated them, and also threatened to beat them and commit them to a psychiatric hospital for “bad behavior” or violation of the daily routine,” the report says.
According to Lubinets, the children and other persons in their interests appealed to the National Police, the local service for children and the department of education, but they did not receive a response, “on the contrary, for every complaint about the conditions of detention or the behavior of the employees of the institution, they were beaten with sticks and humiliated.”
The commissioner said that during the monitoring visit, representatives of the National Police of Ukraine and the prosecutor’s office were called to the place and “forced to start documenting the facts of the violation in our presence.”
According to him, criminal proceedings have been opened, in particular under Part 3 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: “sexual violence against a minor.”
“All the children who testified have been moved out of the facility and are safe. From Monday, I will initiate a high-level meeting involving representatives of the Lviv Regional Government, law enforcement agencies and relevant ministries, because the inaction of the bodies that are supposed to protect children’s rights is a crime. And it is the child who needs immediate unconditional protection, not the abuser,” Lubinets noted.
The organization “SOS Children’s Villages”, which participated in the monitoring visit to the institution, emphasized that “this blatant situation once again emphasizes that children are systematically abused in boarding schools.”
“And this applies to all institutional institutions, regardless of their form – educational and rehabilitation centers, specialized boarding schools, etc. Children in institutions created as a “protection system” are not protected. They are subjected to cruel treatment, violent methods of education and restriction of rights. And the most vulnerable are children with disabilities and mental and behavioral disorders, who need special attention, acceptance and individual support,” the organization said.
It is not specified which institution it is about. There are no comments from the institution yet.