Second regional anti-violence forum held in Cantemir

Chisinau, 17 October /MOLDPRES/- The second regional forum dedicated to the prevention and elimination of domestic violence and school violence took place yesterday in Cantemir. The event is part of the 10 ones planned by parliament for October-December 2017, the parliament’s communication and public relations department has reported.

The forum organized by the parliament’s territorial information office (OTIP) with residence in Leova city brought together MPs, Ombudsman for children’s rights, specialists in the field, representatives of the non-governmental organizations, development partners and pupils, members of the Council of Students from the Cantemir-based education institutions.

Attending the event, MP Elena Bodnarenco said that the legislation on preventing and combating violence is a good one, however, despite the fact that the guardianship is a mandatory form of protection, it does not provide for parental responsibility/ punishment for parents who leave their children unprotected. The lawmaker noted that examples and concrete cases reported in the territory would allow identifying efficient solutions to implement and adjust legislation in the field.

For their part, representatives of the educational institutions said that one of the causes of the phenomenon is migration. According to them, many parents go abroad without leaving a person responsible for child care in their absence, although guardianship is a mandatory form of child protection in our country.

Ombudswoman for Children’s Rights Maia Banarescu noted that the state institutions are obliged to create conditions for the harmonious development of the children. “It is necessary to encourage children to benefit from their right to address directly to the ombudswoman, who is a mediator between government and children. Children have rights and responsibilities – the state has obligations”, she said.

The representatives of pupils’ councils have addressed several problems, among which that fact that, as a result of the optimization of the educational institutions in the constituency schools, the classes are made up of 30-35 pupils, instead of 20-25, as expected. MP Elena Bodnarenco has promised to discuss the issue in parliamentary committee meetings.

Head of OTIP Leova Mihai Timofti concluded that educational institutions, as well as pupils’ councils should focus on information and internal communication in each institution as a prerequisite for preventing and combating cases of violence against children, urging them to communication more effectively with representatives of the parliament in the territory.