About 700 children of Moldova abandon home, placement institution in 2018

Chisinau, 4 February /MOLDPRES/ - About 700 children in 2018 abandoned the home or placement institution, by 30 more against 2017.  

Contacted by MOLDPRES, the press officer of the General Police Inspectorate (IGP), Mariana Betivu, has said that law-enforcers were daily recording five cases of children’s disappearance.   

„Girls in eve of adolescence are mostly exposed to leaving the domicile and the most vulnerable age category is between 14 and 15 years, with most minors coming from the urban regions. Following actions undertaken by policemen, 513 children were found during 24 hours, 132 children – during 48 hours and 164 children – during more than 48 hours. At the same time, last year, more than 230 children repeatedly abandoned the home,” Mariana Betivu noted.  

According to IGP’s data, the main reasons for which children flee their homes are the lack of supervision on behalf of parents, fear of parents’ reaction to the situation at school or to a mistake committed by the child. “Another reason would be the lamentable material situation in the family, escaping physical and emotional abuses, negligence in the family or intention to earn money through seasonal work, influence of the entourage or leaving children to be cared by relatives, after parents go abroad to work,” the press officer said.   

Statistics data shows that, in more than 580 cases, parents, relatives or other people, in whose care children were left, appealed to police two times, five times or even more times after their disappearance, which created difficulties in quickly establishing the place where the child is.

In the context, law-enforcers recommend that parents follow the behavior of the child, where he/she spends the time, what money he/she has, whether the child comes home with new things which do not belong to him/her and which the child cannot justify. Parents should provide time to discuss with the child about how he/she spends the free time, with whom, what is his/her entourage. Also, the relation with the teachers must be maintained, in order to follow the situation at school. If this situation is complicated, then parents should appeal to a specialist, psychologist, school adviser or class teacher.