European social services select Ukrainian children. How to prevent this?
Newly Uthe representative of the Verkhovna Rada on human rights, Dmytro Lubinets, cited sad statistics regarding Ukrainian refugees. According to him, the number of cases of abduction of Ukrainian children has increased in the countries of the European Union.
In comments the ombudsman stated to the NV publication that by December 31 last year, his office had received from National service social service data on 255 children with Ukrainian citizenship who were taken from their parents abroad by local social services. Mosta greater number of such cases were registered in Germany – 71. Behind her followed by Poland (33 cases), Italy (25), the Czech Republic (24) and Sweden (17). Currently ombudsman`s office is processing applications for 176 Ukrainian children selected abroad.
IA “FAKT” analyzed what European social services can consider as a reason to take a child away from parents or official guardians, and how this can be avoided.
Geography of forced divorces with children
Recently, there have been many stories of Ukrainian refugees (mostly women) who were forced to hand over their children to social services, and then seek their return through the courts. For example, in Great Britain, social security agencies and the police took a 10-year-old girl, Zlata, from her mother, Victoria Shchelko, a well-known blogger and plus-size model. It happened in 2023. According to Victoria, she left her daughter without a valid reason, and the reason was her refusal of temporary housing provided by the local authority of the London Borough of Hammersmith. As the 34-year-old woman said, the housing turned out to be a “troubleshooter”. At the same time, social servicesa I will confirmis, that the Ukrainian woman did not provide the child with adequate living conditions and caused her emotional harm. Service workers called the blogger “mentally ill” because she tried to resist when they took her daughter away.
Later, Shchelko underwent a medical examination, which proved that she was mentally illabout healthya. Now Victoria is trying to return Zlata through the court, which will be held on April 16 this year. Since the separation, mother and daughter have seen each other only once.
Another drama happened in France, where social services took a newborn girl from an 18-year-old refugeeand Lyudmila Koltunovska from Korosten, Zhytomyr region, right in the maternity hospital, immediately handing the baby over to the foster family. According to press service workers motivated their actions by the fact that the young woman treats the child coldly. By the way, Lyudmila has the proper conditions for raising a child – she lives in a dormitory provided for Ukrainians with the status of temporary protection, provideda health insurance and free meals. The baby’s father, an Afghan migrant, lives alone because he does not have the right to a dormitory, but he works and is able to support his daughter.
This story ended happily – with the help of the Embassy of Ukraine in France and volunteers, Lyudmila managed to substantiate the illegality of the actions of social services. During the closed session, the court decided to return the child to the parents with the maintenance of advisory support.
Air Force told about one more case – in refugees from Luhansk Elena, the German Jugendamt social service took away her 10-year-old disabled daughter on the grounds of the mother’s suspicious behavior and the risk to the girl’s well-being. As Olena admitted to journalists, at that time she was taking antidepressants on the doctor’s recommendation, but she was prescribed an excessive dose, which made her look sleepy and apathetic. Apparently, this alerted the staff of the school attended by the daughter, and they complained to the Jugendamt.
Elena was outraged that the school did not ask her about the reasons for her lethargy, but immediately suspected that she was taking drugs, and contacted social services. The girl was separated from her mother for more than two months, but they allowed visits on certain days and only under the supervision of social securityinfish Because of this, the child, who is already lagging behind in development, began to regress, and besides, she constantly cried.
Thanks to Olena’s active activities, appeals to public organizations, the embassy and even members of the European Parliament, in January 2023 she managed to return her daughter, moreover, without a trial. Unfortunately, the situation traumatized the child and the woman: the girl is afraid to let her mother go, and Olena still goes to a psychotherapist.
Why are children taken away from Ukrainian refugees?
The reasons for the strict actions of European social services are diverse. For example, Tatyana, a 49-year-old woman from Lviv, who ended up in Bavaria, Germany, has a strained relationship with her mother. Due to family scandals, social services decided that Tatyana poses a threat to loved ones. As a result, the woman’s six-year-old son ended up in the care of a German family, and the mother was placed in a shelter for women victims of violence.
Europeans usually contact child welfare services because of a child’s loud screams or prolonged crying from the apartment where the refugees live, as well as the presence of scratches or bruises on the children’s skin. After all, they regard it as corporal punishment or causing psychological trauma to children, which is strictly prohibited by local legislation.
Also, the reasons for the actions of European social services in relation to Ukrainian children are the parents’ lack of necessary documents and improper (according to EU laws) fulfillment of parental duties. In Europe, the latter is considered raising the voice, any physical influence on the child in order to calm it down, leaving it without adult supervision for a long time. Social service workers can take the child away if she herself behaves aggressively.
There is a conspiratorial version, as if the main goal of Europeans is to try to refresh the gene pool, which is why they select babies. But the evidence against her is that such cases are not widespread, besides, most children manage to be returned to their parents or guardians, and after such incidents, families usually go home to Ukraine.
The most common reason for the radical actions of social services is Ukrainians’ poor knowledge of European legislation on the protection of children’s rights. For example, according to the Ukrainian embassy in Poland, children are most often removed in this country due to the alcoholic intoxication of the guardian and violation of the ban on leaving the child alone at home. By the way, it should be noted that in France and Great Britain, a child must be under the constant supervision of adults until the age of 12, and in Poland – until the age of 7.
In Germany, Switzerland, France and other European countries, a child must attend school. Skipping classes without a valid reason and parents notifying the school administration in advance is sufficient grounds for a complaint to social services. For example, in Switzerland, a Ukrainian woman received a warning from the local social service and a requirement to pass a drug test because her child did not attend school for 15 days. However, her son then fell ill with chicken pox, and it was impossible to get him to see a doctor.
According to Swiss rules, if a child cannot attend school for more than three days, the school should be informed, preferably in advance. In addition, the reason for missing classes must be valid – and it is not parental leave. Therefore, the appearance of a child at the airport in the middle of the school year will definitely attract the attention of the police.
Refugees may also have problems if the guardian of the child is an elderly person, for example, a grandmother. After all, in Italy and France, the guardian’s age should not exceed 65 years.
What should Ukrainian refugees do to avoid problems with European ones social services?
Ukrainian refugees should consider the following importantand moments:
- The Hague Convention on Jurisdiction applies between Ukraine and EU countries, according to which a change in the country of residence entails a change in jurisdiction. That is, adults and children – citizens of Ukraine are subject to the direct effect of the laws of the country where they are located. Therefore, citizens of Ukraine should carefully study the legislation of the host countries and follow it.
- In the countries of the south and the north of Europe, approaches to child protection differ, so it is worth considering whose conditions are most suitable.
- The reason for the appearance of social service workers can be even a barely noticeable bruise on the baby’s body or a rude shout at the child. Usually, such signs of inappropriate treatment of children are reported by teachers, doctors, kindergarten teachers, and neighbors. There is also a rule in the Ukrainian legislation according to which anyone who knows about any form of violence against children must immediately notify the relevant authorities. However, due to the Ukrainian mentality, it is not accepted to do this, unlike in the West, where it is part of the norm.
- In many European countries, in the event of the slightest suspicion of violence against a child, the child is immediately removed from the family. It does contribute to the effective prevention of violence and is not intended to cause unnecessary suffering to parents.
- When communicating with representatives of social services, in no case should you show aggression. Any intemperance is alarming for social servicescarving signscarving, even if it is a natural parental desire to protect the child. It is necessary to comply with all the requirements of social service workers, in particular, to pass tests for alcohol or drug consumptioniv and examination by a psychiatrist.
- If the child is removed, you should immediately contact the local consulate, the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, local charities and communities of Ukrainians. An interpreter and a lawyer can be found through specialized charities.
- Absolutely normal is appeal for help to local residents on the issue of adaptation to local realities. For example, you can contact the school administration, where they will tell you how the institution interacts with parents, how adults can better build communication in the child’s new environment.