One in two children is hit in the family, 18% go to bed hungry, 5% are subjected to physical abuse in schools, according to a study published by the Save the Children organization on Monday. The incidence of sexual abuse outside the family has also been on the rise lately.
The answers received from the children show a much higher incidence of the application of corporal punishment in the family (46%), compared to the one recognized by the parents (28%).
About 3% of parents say that their child has been sexually abused in the last year, with almost two-thirds of the perpetrator being an unknown person, and 2.9% of teens say they have been forced to have sex against their will.
94% of children say they feel safe in the family and only 3% say they never feel safe at home, but the answers indicate a much higher incidence of corporal punishment compared to what parents admit (46% vs. 28%).
The study also shows that 10% of the children prefer to leave their families for fear of corporal punishment, while this happens frequently and very often for 2%.
“Emotional abuse, that classic ‘You are cursed, offended at home’ has a level of 12%. Almost 90% of children say they are scolded by their parents. Half of the children say that they repeatedly attend quarrels between their parents or that almost two out of ten children say that they are not allowed by their parents to meet, play and so on with other children, as well as similar percentages that one of their parents drinks too much. More serious forms of abuse such as not feeding the child as a result of a mistake are lower, having values below 4-5% “, said Ciprian Grădinaru, sociologist of Save the Children.
The survey points that one in three children says they don’t eat home-cooked food.
More than two out of ten children say that they do not see their doctor when they are sick, that they are left alone at home overnight to take care of younger siblings, and that they are left at home for days on end.
About two out of ten children say they go to bed hungry.
About 5% of children say they happened to be sent to work instead of going to school. One of the two children says he was beaten with his hand, that beating without a trace.