Violence against children in the Lviv region: the State Service for Children will go with an inspection to the scandalous institution

ILLUSTRATIVE photo: mihakonceptcorn/DEPOSITPHOTOS

The State Service of Ukraine for Children’s Affairs responded to information about alleged violence against children in an educational rehabilitation center in the Lviv region.

The State Service announced an inspection of the institution, the pupils of which, according to the ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, were systematically subjected to sexual, physical and psychological violence.

“Violence against orphaned children is an unacceptable crime. Our specialists, together with representatives of the Coordination Center for the Development of Family Education and Child Care, social work specialists and psychologists, will visit the institution this week and conduct a direct assessment of the needs of each child.”– it is said in a statement on the service’s Facebook page.

The aforementioned educational and rehabilitation center in Lviv region takes care of orphans, children with special educational needs and minors deprived of parental care.

According to the ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, the pupils of the institution are malnourished and suffer from violence, in particular by the director of the center.

After the publicity, the law enforcement officers started criminal proceedings on suspicion of sexual violence – part 3 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The head of the State Service for Children expressed hope for an honest investigation of this case.

“My principled position is that no violence of any kind can exist in institutions for children. This is unacceptable. As you know, an investigation is currently underway. I hope for objective and fair results.

I and our Service strive for systemic changes – and we see the future of orphans, children deprived of parental care, and children who are in difficult life circumstances, in family forms of upbringing or close to them.”– said the head of the service Petro Dobromilskyi.

Petro Dobromilskyi, head of the State Service for Children

Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Children’s Affairs/Facebook

We would like to remind you that the alleged violence against children in the center has been made public for the first time reported ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets after the monitoring visit on September 28.

The children told Lubinets that the director of the center “committed acts of a sexual nature” towards the girls, publicly humiliated the students, threatened with beatings and psychiatric hospital for “bad behavior” or violation of the daily routine.

The non-governmental organization “Ukrainian Network for Children’s Rights” added that the children complained about the director’s wife, who beat them with an iron rod.

According to the ombudsman, during the past 6 months, pupils and other people have asked for help from the police, but they have not responded to their statements.

At the same time, law enforcement officers of the Lviv region declaredthat in 2024 they did not receive any complaints about alleged violence against the center’s pupils.

Currently, the police have opened criminal proceedings against the head of the training and rehabilitation center, and the head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration reportedthat the suspect was removed from duty.

Also after the ombudsman’s statement about the scandalous institution, the Minister of Social Policy, Oksana Zholnovich instructed The National Social Service should check all institutions where children live around the clock.