CASES OF FAMILY DEFILEMENT AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN IN MACEDONIA

CASES OF FAMILY DEFILEMENT AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN IN MACEDONIA
REACTION OF MORE FREQUENT CASES OF FAMILY DEFILEMENT AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN IN MACEDONIA AS WELL AS THE INAPPROPRIATE TREATMENT TOWARDS THE CHILDREN-VICTIMS OF INCEST AND PEDOPHILIA.

-Who abuses children in Macedonia- is it forgotten what are the traumas like that those children-victims are going through? - Why some of those children victims of family defilement change their statements? - Are those children victims forwarded to the hands of the state institution?

It is well known and presented to the public that over the SOS line 0 800 1 2222 the First World Children’s Embassy MEGJASHI many times deals with cases of sexual abuse of children. Among those there are number of cases of family defilement as well. Those cases are aggravating the situation not only from the psychological aspect but the legal as well. What happens commonly about this in practice?
- After revealing the situation children victims of family defilement are left on their own into even more complicated family condition.
- Commonly the child stays with the other parent who sometimes refuses to face the truth and admit the violence. As for a background of this behavior many times the financial factor appears because the parent-abuser looses job and the family is left without the basic monthly income.
-The parent that remains with the child victim, facing many different problems manifests a violent behavior as well; emotionally and mentally molesting the child in order to punish him/her for the afore happened considering that the child is the cause of this emergent family situation.
- The starting problem multiplies within the child victim’s life, facing with series of new serious problems (amongst which there are the court hearings, face to face with the abuser) which make the trauma to become even harder and the incredulity in the system that supposedly should protect him/her is totally lost.
- The child is dismissed from the family and stigmatized by the environment and instead of being encouraged for the raised voice this child becomes judged for his/her honesty.
- Finally, unable to handle the situation, the child concerned for the future of the whole family even for the parent abuser and the fact if he/she will be sent to jail or not, hides the trauma deep inside.
-The child withdraws the statement!!

We wonder, for how long the children victims of family defilement will face those traumas? Do they have somebody to lean on?
We appeal to the institutions responsible for this to be extremely careful towards the children victims of sexual abuse. Reentering a procedure by the authoritative institutions in cases of inappropriate and unprofessionally conducted practice is a repetition of the violence over the child, except that in this case besides the previously experienced abuse the child handles a mental molesting by the institution and as well as by the professionals involved in the case.
To be a witness or a victim of a crime, and then to be involved in a court debate is a very difficult experience for adults and even more difficult for children. The child doesn’t comprehend the court procedures and fears from the new situations and the unknown people. The child is ashamed to speak for the afore happened. Sometimes, he/she feels guilty, lost, frightened, and abandoned, fears that he/she won’t fulfill the expectation of the adults.

We would like to remind all the public institutions that Republic of Macedonia has ratified the Convention of the Children’s Rights and that according article 34 the countries-signatories are obligated to protect children from all the forms of sexual exploit and molesting. For that purpose, it is particularly significant that the countries members should undertake all the appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures for impediment of the sexual exploit and abuse.
In conclusion, we would like to remind that Republic of Macedonia has signed the Convention of the Council of Europe for Children’s Protection of Sexual Exploit and Abuse. All at once, we request from the Macedonian Parliament to ratify this Convention as well.