“Safe Bukovyna. Children”: The first regional forum was held in Chernivtsi
Today, December 15, the first Ukrainian forum “Safe Bukovyna” took place in Chernivtsi. Children”. The event is aimed at combating violence, the safety of children in educational institutions, the fight against alcohol and drug addiction.
Currently, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is actively implementing a number of initiatives and working with territorial communities to create safe conditions for children. Among them are projects “Safe School”, “Safety Educator”, a project on the prevention of drug addiction, cooperation with social networks to remove content that promotes or provokes violence.
“Within the framework of the “Safety Educator” project, communities will receive specialists with specialized training who will deal with safety issues in educational institutions and will communicate with representatives of AHs, students, parents, and school administration. They will provide all the necessary information on how to prevent the child from getting into an unpleasant situation, and will also respond to such cases,” said Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Ekaterina Pavlichenko.
During the opening of the forum, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine stressed that the crime is not only murder or an accident. Sometimes crimes are quiet and unknown to anyone, this is domestic violence. The fight against domestic violence is not only to defend, but also to explain to citizens that the problem cannot be silenced and contained. To overcome domestic violence, you must first tell about it.
“For the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the topic of domestic violence is one of the key ones. After all, human security is the security of the country. Together with public organizations, we develop effective means of combating domestic tyrants. One of the initiatives is an electronic bracelet, thanks to which, after a court decision, it will be possible to determine if the offender wants to use physical force again,” said the adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko.
According to statistics, more than 600 cases of domestic violence occur daily in Ukraine. The number of appeals for domestic violence increased by 45% in the last 9 months of this year, compared to the same period of the previous year.
Deputy Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine Olga Revuk noted that this indicator does not indicate an increase in cases of violence. This figure also shows that victims of domestic violence have become more trusting of the police and social services.
The organizers of the event are confident that a higher level of trust in the representatives of the authorities from the side of victims of domestic violence is good, but it is necessary to continue to jointly develop mechanisms for combating violence and algorithms for helping people affected by domestic violence.
“When I ask a woman who has endured the beating of her husband for years, who no longer has a living place left from the beatings of the abuser, why has she endured so long? I always hear the same answers. It is either the excitement of being judged by acquaintances, or the lack of a mechanism for how to start a new life. These women simply do not know where to go and who can help them. They endure the beatings and suffering of their children because they see no other way out. We must understand that we can help these women start a new life, give children the opportunity to grow up in a safe environment,” Marta Levchenko, head of the charity foundation “I am the future of Ukraine”, said during the discussion.
One of the important topics was the discussion of methods of dealing with drug and alcohol dependence of children, because such children usually grow up to be abusers. Therefore, it is extremely important to identify addictions in children and help them overcome them.
At this year's forum “Safe Bukovyna. Children”, the first national award “Policeman — Friend of the Child” was awarded. It was received by Nikolai Basarab, head of the youth prevention sector of the Chernivtsi region.
The organizers of the event note that the first regional forum will be a point of no return. Thanks to effective communication between the authorities and public organizations, step by step it will be possible to create a safe environment and a happy childhood for every Ukrainian.
