TIRANA, April 1 – Another case of flagrant physical abuse at children’s homes was registered this week with a caretaker held responsible for beating a three-year old child. The latest incident at the children’s home in Durres exposes the state’s inability to monitor the institutions and the prevention of such acts.
The case, which was exposed by an investigative television show, revealed that the child bore visible signs of physical abuse with scars to his face and body.
According to the report on the case, the child was beaten for having defecated in his underwear.
The caretaker was immediately sacked after the scandal became public and was later arrested at the local hospital, where she was receiving treatment after fainting during police questioning the previous day.
A local court remanded her in custody pending trial.
The Ombudsman and the Ministry of Social Welfare condemned the incident and called for tougher measures against perpetrators of violence against children.
“We feel really sad about what happened. There are really no justifications on the incident,” Minister of Social Welfare Blendi Klosi said while he also asked for the sacking of the director of the children’s home in Durres where the incident occurred.
Ombudsman Igli Totozani expressed deep concern regarding repeated cases of physical and psychological violence perpetrated by caregivers in children’s homes.
The Ombudsman urged for tougher penalties for employees of residential centers who abuse defenseless children and the taking of measures to prevent such acts.
The Ombudsman said that a special group of experts has been set up to monitor and verify the conditions of psychological and physical treatment of minors in every children’s home in the country and called on the civil society to join in the initiative.
“Violence against children is an intolerable and an inhuman act, punishable by law as a criminal offence. This form of violence is even more serious when the perpetrators are educators and their caregivers,” Totozani said.
Totozani also expressed his concern over the weakening of protective mechanisms of children’s right due to frequent changes of the trained staff.
This is the second episode within a year where minors living in children’s homes are physically abused by staff shocking the public opinion in the country.
Last July, a caretaker at Shkodra’s children home was caught on tape physically abusing the very children she was supposed to protect.
The installing of surveillance cameras in the premises of residential centers is seen as a way of preventing abuse, but currently such a move is impossible due to existing laws protecting children’s rights.
