In Ukraine, the number of reports of domestic violence from children and young people is increasing

In the first months of the full-scale invasion, the number of domestic violence reports dropped to zero. Today, this trend is growing, especially among children and adolescents, said Maryna Lehenka, president of the NGO "La Strada – Ukraine," during a briefing, as reported by UNN.

Details

Speaking about reports of domestic violence and human trafficking during the war years, one can start with the trend of 2022: in the first months of the war, such reports dropped to zero. This was absolutely logical. The women who individually reported said: "We understand that this is not the time, but we must report it."

She added that in the first months of the full-scale invasion, the situation around domestic violence was artificially downplayed, as the victims themselves understood that their problems were not a priority. However, then the number of reports began to grow.

"After that, there was still a certain period when the situation with domestic violence was artificially downplayed, as there were acute problems that we had. And unfortunately, we still have them, they have not disappeared. But there was a clear understanding by the state that the problem of domestic violence is extremely urgent in the conditions of a full-scale war. Perhaps even more urgent than outside of a full-scale war, as the level of aggression in society is not decreasing. Therefore, in terms of the number of reports, we began to see a certain increase, and today the number of reports is greater than before the start of the full-scale war. And gradually this number of reports is growing," - noted Maryna Lehenka.

Also, according to Lehenka, there is a growing trend in the number of reports from children and adolescents. Cases of violence occur both at home and outside of it.

The number of reports from children has increased dramatically. The number of reports from children and youth has doubled. And these reports concern both cruel treatment and violence, both at home and outside the home. That is, both on the street and in the school environment. Therefore, if we talk about trends, unfortunately, they are like this.

Addition

In Lviv, the causes of death of two orphaned children in a specialized institution are being investigated. One child died from congenital diseases, the other from the consequences of being beaten by her mother.

Monitoring shows that negligence of guardianship authorities and social services on the ground leads to critical situations. In the Zhytomyr region, a child died from violence by her father, and in Transcarpathia, eight children were left without food, and in the Kirovohrad region, an HIV-positive child stopped receiving vital medicines.