Ombudsman turns to chief prosecutor over kindergarten abuse in Budapest

Ombudsman László Székely has filed a report with the chief prosecutor’s office concerning a case in which a child was exposed to “humiliation and mental torture” by kindergarten teachers, the ombudsman’s office said on Thursday.

According to the ombudsman’s findings, the teachers regularly shouted at the child and called the child “stupid”.

The report quoted a psychologist as establishing that the child defecated as a consequence and eventually stopped communicating with kindergarten staff. The parents turned to the head of the kindergarten and to the municipality but did not receive a timely response.

The child protection authority then started proceedings to remove the child from the family.

The parents filed a criminal report but the prosecutor’s office dropped the case “in absence of criminal activities”, the ombudsman’s report said.

In his report, the ombudsman said that abusing children in kindergarten or school was a serious matter and “practices tolerating such behaviours or boycotting investigation must be changed from their foundations.”

According to the report, the parents’ right to a fair procedure was harmed because the kindergarten failed to respond to their complaint in a timely way, while the municipality failed to investigate or inform the complainants about the possibilities of legal remedy.

The ombudsman also noted that removing a child from their family would not prevent possible abuse at kindergarten or school.

As we wrote on January, children with disabilities living in special needs homes in a village in north-eastern Hungary should be moved to foster homes unless conditions in the homes and their affiliated school are immediately improved, the ombudsman’s office said, details HERE.

Source: MTI