Romania
Violence against children
The data provided by the Institute for Research and Preventing Criminality show an increased dynamics of the number of children victims of sexual crimes. Thus, in 1998, 379 cases were recorded, in 1999 the number increased to 618 and in 2002, according to the statistics, there were 295 children victims of physical abuse (beating, beating causing death, attempt to murder, murder), 619 cases of sexual abuse (rape, sexual crimes, incest, offenses against minors) and 1170 cases of family abandonment. We estimate that the number of abuse cases, which are investigated by specialists is much bigger.
A study carried out by Save the Children in 2000 on 425 cases shows the presence of emotional abuse in 90% of the analyzed cases and physical abuse in 75% cases.
According to the study with national relevance (1556 parents and 1295 children) regarding the number of abuse cases carried out in 2000 by the National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption, World Health Organization and World Bank, the situation is the following: 18.4% of the parents state that they abuse their children physically, compared to 24.2% of the children. 47.2% of the parents declare that they use beating as an educational means, compared to 84% of the children who were questioned. Regarding other forms of abuse, 25.6% of the children admit that they expose their children to various forms of psychological abuse and 63.8% to verbal aggression.
Regarding the sexual abuse on children, the parents, representing 0.1%, a percentage that rises up to 9.1% among the questioned children, admitted one case.
Regarding the situation of institutionalized children, the study carried out in 2000 by UNICEF and the Institute for Mother and Child Care on 3.164 children, almost half (48.1%) of the children between 7-18 years old state that the personnel working in institutions use beating as a means of punishment. Regarding the sexual abuse, the study showed that 36.1 of the institutionalized children had heard about children being forced to sexual practices, but only the children of 15-18 years of age admit it. The number of the children who had the courage to admit that they had been victims of such forms of abuse is very small: 4.3%.Children from the same institution, the personnel working in the institution, children from other institutions and children's relatives, less than 5%, are mentioned as abusers. It is significant that almost 30% of the children do not want to say who the abuser is.