Flagrant violations of children’s rights in a special school in Ternopil region: a trend of concern

November 15 Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets made public information about another case of violation of children’s rights in a special educational institution for children with special educational needs in Ternopil Region. Such cases, unfortunately, are already becoming an alarming trend. In the past, violations were detected in the Lviv region, and each time such situations cause a wide public outcry.

Unscheduled monitoring visit

An unscheduled monitoring visit was made to one of the specialized institutions for children in the Ternopil Region, organized by the Office of the Ombudsman in cooperation with the National Social Service Service, public organizations, the Ukrainian Network for Children’s Rights and the “Voices of Children” Foundation. The reason for the visit was an appeal to the “hotline” of the Ombudsman regarding cases of violence against children in this institution.

Violations of children’s rights were detected

The results of the monitoring were stunning and raised numerous questions about the treatment of children in this institution. Among the main violations identified by the monitoring group:

• Sexual abuse: recorded testimonies of children who may testify to facts of sexual abuse in the institution. These testimonies are currently being verified.
• Lack of registration of children: the institution does not have a system for recording the attendance of students, the administration and teachers do not know the exact number of children in classes.
• Psychological pressure and intimidation: children are intimidated by being placed in a mental institution for bad behavior.
• Unacceptable attitude of the staff: even in the presence of the monitoring group, the staff allowed themselves psychological pressure on the children, insulting and even pushing them.
• Unsupervised drug use: children are given drugs, including psychotropic drugs, without a doctor’s prescription, diagnosis and supervision.
• Lack of medical support: the facility does not have contracts with local medical facilities, which limits access to proper medical supervision.
• Insufficient number of documents in personal files: important documents and relevant conclusions about the state of their health are missing from the personal files of children.
• Improper conditions of development for children with special needs: the institution lacks correctional teachers, speech therapists, defectologists and other specialists.
• Children’s lack of personal belongings: children are not provided with the necessary means of personal hygiene, clothes and toys. It was discovered that humanitarian aid had not been distributed among children for more than a year.
• Improper living conditions: the rooms for children need to be repaired, and the furniture needs to be replaced.
• Dangerous food products: the food block stores products with an indefinite expiration date. One child with allergies was left without alternative nutrition, which led to frequent starvation.
• Alcohol in classrooms: Alcohol was found in a classroom designated for cooking classes and was in public view of children.

Investigation and follow-up

Given the seriousness of the situation, the monitoring group called the law enforcement officers to the institution to conduct an investigation. Currently, it is known that the Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office of the Ternopil region initiated criminal proceedings on the facts of sexual violence, illegal placement of persons in a psychiatric institution, improper performance of duties regarding the health care of children, and abuse of official position.

Dmytro Lubinets emphasized the need to immediately eliminate all violations, ensure safe and dignified conditions for children in institutions, in particular for children with special educational needs. The Ombudsman called for the implementation of the given recommendations and drew attention to the fact that repeated cases of violation of children’s rights in specialized institutions indicate the need for stricter control by state authorities and the implementation of additional measures to protect children’s rights.

“For my part, I demand the provision of safe conditions for children, the implementation of the provided recommendations and the immediate elimination of detected violations!”, – he wrote.

Commentary of the Ternopil Regional Military Administration

In the Ternopil Regional Military Administration reacted on reports of possible violations of children’s rights in a special institution in Novosilka. Rostislav Drozd, head of the children’s service of the OVA, emphasized that since the beginning of the work of the monitoring group from the Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights, the regional administration has actively cooperated in investigating the situation.

Rostislav Drozd noted that the regional council created a special commission for a comprehensive analysis. It consists of representatives of various structural units, including departments of education, health care, and children’s services. The commission has already held its first meeting, and a trip to the institution is planned for a deeper study of the circumstances and a detailed analysis of the collected information during this week.

Drozd also reported that Oleksandr Krynytskyi, representative of the Commissioner for Human Rights in Ternopil Oblast, took part in the commission’s meeting. He was present during the monitoring visit and provided the commission with detailed information about the detected violations. The report of the monitoring group will be submitted to the regional council and regional administration for further response.