11.07.2019, Moscow.
The high-profile case of an Ingush girl who was allegedly tortured by her aunt must not become an excuse for extending the rights of the child protective services to “preventively” interfere with Russian families, the Time Will Show program hosts on the Russia One channel, Artyom Sheynin and Ekaterina Strizhenova, said on July 9.
The hosts’ sharp response followed a statement made by an invited expert at the program, the Chairwoman of the Women’s (gender) fraction of the Yabloko party Galina Mikhaleva, who said that a law against domestic violence must be adopted in Russia, “which we do not have.” According to Mikhaleva, “prevention of domestic violence is needed, which should be provided for in this law,” and which will be implemented whenever the child protection services “have any suspicions.”
“Does the ‘prevention’ mean that they will come to my home and check my child’s condition? Suspicions based on what? The child plays at home, and then he falls hurting his forehead against the edge of the bed. Then I go to the hospital with the child, and some suspicions arise… Great! Do you understand in what our country will immerse immediately?” this is how Artyom Sheynin reacted.
According to Sheynin, there are some “children defenders” who will start checking what people have in their refrigerators, and on what bed sheets children sleep. Such visits of the children protection services often end with removal of the children. “We have discussed dozens of such cases here,” the host said.
According to Sheynin, on the one hand, Russia is lacking a system that would be able to protect the Ingush girl from the situation when she remained without any attention of legal representatives for half a year. But the other extreme is that such a “prevention” system, if implemented, “will save ones while casting all the others into hell.”
Ekaterina Strizhenova’s reaction was even tougher.
“I will not let you implement forced foster care in our country as long as I live! Because this is such an evil! This is an evil that requires a separate discussion. I know that there are many people here in this studio who lobby forced foster care!” the host said addressing Mikhaleva.
The host emotionally reminded hundreds of cases when children were removed from their parents after bruises were found on the children. No one can prove that this was not done by the father or the mother, who then have to knock on every door trying to prove that they did not hurt their children, Strizhenova said.
“It is important to avoid confusion, and not to make another problem while solving the previous one. We must ensure that children will not get into such situations. But this must not become an excuse for the extension of the forced foster care invasion into our families. This is very important, too,” Artyom Sheynin concluded.
Last Thursday, a five year old girl was brought to a children’s hospital in Ingushetia with multiple injuries. Then she was transported to the Leonid Roshal Research Institute of Emergency Pediatric Surgery and Traumatology in Moscow. A criminal investigation was initiated, and the Magas District Court arrested the girl’s aunt, with whom the girl lived, who is suspected of injuring and torturing the girl.
As Rossa Primavera News Agency previously reported, this incident was immediately employed in further attempts to push a law against domestic violence into the Russian legislation, which Ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova wants to promote.
According to European human rights activists, in countries where a domestic and gender violence law was adopted, it does not work, but it results in multiple acts of abuse during family conflicts and divorces.
