children

Orbán: Brussels wants Hungary to allow LGBTQ activists in schools, kindergartens

budapest pride

The European Parliament and the European Commission try to get Hungary to allow LGBTQ activists into kindergartens and schools, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday.

Orbán told reporters in Belgrade that Wednesday’s European Parliament plenary debate on Hungary’s new child protection law had been useful because it clearly revealed the positions.

The EP and the EC want LGBTQ activists and organisations to gain entry to schools and kindergartens but “Hungary does not want this”, Orbán said.

The debate concerns who should decide about how to raise children, Orbán added.

The European basic treaties clearly show that it is an issue that belongs in national authority, he said, adding that “Brussels bureaucrats have no business here”.

“No matter what they’ll do, we will not allow LGBTQ activists to enter our kindergartens and schools,” Orbán said.

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Read alsoEP has found a way to sanction Hungary for the „homophobic law”?

PM Office: Hungary committed to child protection

hungary children

The Hungarian government remains committed to European Union law, the Hungarian constitution and child protection, the prime minister’s chief of staff told a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

Commenting on Wednesday’s European Parliament plenary debate on Hungary’s new child protection law, Gergely Gulyás said the government was open to an objective debate in the matter.

However, it rejects the EP’s decision to put a politician “who has been sentenced in a binding ruling for gay revenge porn offences” in charge of the case, he said, referring to reports that Maltese MEP Cyrus Engerer, who has been tasked with drafting a resolution on the law, was found guilty in 2014 of circulating pornographic recordings of his former partner online without his consent.

Hungary will resist the push by Brussels to get the country to allow LGBTQ activists into kindergartens and schools, Gulyás said, adding that child protection was “the most important cause”.

He added that besides the Hungarian constitution, the EU’s Charter of Fundamental Rights also declares that raising children is the duty of the parents.

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Read alsoPM Orbán: the Dutch PM thinks he can tell Hungarians how to raise their children

“Brussels can’t tell people how they should raise their children,” Gulyás said.

The Hungarian government’s arguments concerning the law are “obvious and clear” and in line with EU law and the Hungarian constitution, “but they’re not in line with the appalling, baseless and deceitful attacks” launched by the EP, Gulyás said.

“Hate speech is forbidden even against Hungary, and it’s all the more damaging that certain Hungarian MEPs are engaging in it too,” he said. Having certain “European bureaucrats” use EU law for “everyday political battles” is also harmful to the future of the bloc, he added.

Gulyás said a government decree on child protection issued on Tuesday had already reflected on Wednesday’s EP debate.

On another subject, Gulyás said the government has been in talks with Brussels on the EU’s post-pandemic recovery fund for months, dismissing reports that said otherwise as “fake news”. He added, however, that the European Commission had recently formulated “absurd demands” concerning matters that were already settled.

“But reports that Brussels has rejected Hungary’s plan or that talks have been halted are fake news,” he added. The talks are going well, he said, and expressed hope that Hungary’s recovery plan will be approved.

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Read alsoEP has found a way to sanction Hungary for the „homophobic law”?

CoE calls on Hungary to reconsider December constitutional amendment

Hungary parliament Budapest

The Venice Commission has called on the government to reconsider recent amendments to Hungary’s constitution so as “to avoid possible discrimination against certain groups in society”.

The Council of Europe’s body of constitutional experts said on Monday that the changes adopted “without public consultation” in a fast-track procedure in December 2020 during the special legal order in connection with the coronavirus epidemic was inconsistent with its recommendations regarding the protection of democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Further, the body said the definition contained in the ninth amendment of marriage as the union of one man and one; and that the mother is a woman and the father a man, and that only married couples may adopt children — while single people may adopt only with the special permission of the Minister of Family Affairs — gave rise to possible discrimination under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Also, the amendment defines children’s gender as identical with their biological gender, thereby obviating the legal recognition of transgender and intersex people. This, it added, was incompatible with international human rights norms, and the provision could result in discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The body called for a repeal of the relevant amendments to ensure the rights of transgender people to have their acquired gender identity legally recognised.

Meanwhile, regarding the paragraphs on public foundations performing public functions, the Venice Commission expressed concerns about the impact of the constitutional amendment on the education system, saying the amendment may jeopardise academic freedom and weaken the autonomy of higher education institutions.

Also, the amendment’s provisions regarding the special legal order “raise serious questions” regarding the concentration of powers in the hands of the executive, the body said.

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Read alsoPM Orbán: Anti-paedophile law about protecting children, parents

Would you work at a children’s camp as a teacher for EUR 2 per hour?

children

A camp in the 2nd district offers a surprisingly low salary for teachers – several Facebook groups of educators found it outrageous. According to the Teachers’ Union, the usual salary in these summer camps is not higher than EUR 4-5 gross per hour.

Teachers’ salaries are quite low in Hungary: according to Portfolio, the president of the Teachers’ Union, Zsuzsa Szabó, said that a beginner teacher takes home a net salary of roughly HUF 150,000 (EUR 430). According to her, a 50-60% wage increase would be necessary because no one wants to base a future on a salary like that. This is probably why a lot of teachers need to work during the summer, too.

They, however, cannot seem to expect higher salaries in summer camps either.

According to 24.hu, teachers are offered 760 forints (EUR 2) per hour in a 2nd district camp.

Summer camping is a mandatory task for municipalities, as many families need childcare even after the end of the school year. Teachers’ salaries in these summer camps are usually paid by municipalities or their non-profit companies. Mayor Gergely Őrsi told the news portal that he asked the NGO responsible for the camps to negotiate the salaries with the teachers. According to the Teachers’ Union, it is rare for a teacher to receive more than HUF 1,500 (EUR 5) gross for childcare.

In the 3rd district, Óbudai Sport és Szabadidő Nonprofit Kft. organises summer camps for families that need childcare after the school year as well. Teachers receive HUF 11,000 (EUR 32) gross for eight hours of work per day here, writes 24.hu.

Gábor Gosztonyi, the vice-president of the Teachers’ Union, told 24.hu that teachers are rarely paid more than EUR 4-5 for summer camps, yet there is still a great need for camps, especially this year because many parents have run out of days off over the past year and a half.

Although camping is not a mandatory task for teachers, the union knows of certain places where teachers are obliged to take on childcare for one or two weeks.

According to Gosztonyi, the fact that teachers still apply for these low-paid summer camp jobs is a good indication of the humiliating and vulnerable situation they are in.

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Read alsoWould you work at a children’s camp as a teacher for EUR 2 per hour?

Justice minister: Brussels can’t tell Hungarians how to raise their children

hungary children

Brussels does not have the authority to tell Hungarians how they should raise their children, the justice ministry said in response to the European Commission’s criticism of Hungary’s new anti-paedophile law.

The law is about the protection of minors and how Hungarian children are raised, the ministry said in a statement, citing its response letter to the EC.

Neither the EC nor any other European body has the authority to tell anyone in Hungary how they should live, think, or raise their children, the ministry said. Hungarian children cannot receive sex education without the full consent of the parents, it added.

The government believes children should be protected from content inappropriate for their age and that they should only receive sex education from qualified organisations or people with the consent of their parents, the statement said.

Only parents can decide on the sexual education of their children, the ministry said. “This is why the law prohibits exposing children to both heterosexual and homosexual propaganda,” it added.

The ministry insisted that this part of the law was in line with the founding document of the European Union and was not in violation of anyone’s right to sexual self-expression, as it does not apply to adults.

“Hungary is a free country, and the state does not interfere in the lives of its adult citizens,” the statement said.

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Read alsoPM Orbán: Anti-paedophile law about protecting children, parents

Budapest City Hall flies rainbow flag for Pride Month

budapest city hall

The City Hall of Budapest has flown the rainbow flag, joining several cities in Europe and around the world in marking Pride Month, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Friday.

“The flag stands against all forms of hatred and division, as its stands for a cohesive society, human dignity, freedom and love, free love,” Karácsony said on Facebook.

“Love is always stronger than hatred, and the power of community can overcome efforts to divide; Budapest is a strong city, a strong community, a city of rights, instead of a city of privileges, where everyone is free to express their opinion, their world view and identity,” Karácsony said.

“Therefore, this year as well, just like after the 2019 municipal elections and like many thousands of cities in Europe and the world, we put the rainbow flag on to the Budapest City Hall in honor and time of the Pride month” the mayor wrote on Facebook.

The action is especially relevant as the Hungarian government implemented a change in the recent anti-paedophile law, dubbed “homophobic law”. The change has caused a great deal of public unrest with demonstrations in front of the Hungarian Parliament. Since that, the topic has shifted the spotlight to Hungary worldwide, with many people making a stand against the law.

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Read alsoPM Orbán: Anti-paedophile law about protecting children, parents

Justice minister: EU not interested in Hungary’s position on sex education law

Hungary Orbán von der Leyen

The Hungarian government was “mistaken” when it thought the European Union would be interested in its position on Hungary’s new sex education law, Justice Minister Judit Varga said in a blog post on abouthungary.hu on Friday.

The minister posted an op-ed on Hungary’s new law which she said Brussels-based news outlet Politico had refused to publish.

In the op-ed, the minister said that “no one” in the international press cared that a joint statement issued by several European countries expressing concern over the law “contains false allegations and falsifies the merit of the Hungarian law by suppressing essential parts thereof”.

“No one cares to notice that the focus of the law is the protection of children from any kind of sexuality – hence it cannot, by definition, be discriminatory,” Varga added.

She said the signatory member states had not even bothered to ask the government for an official explanation of the law before issuing their statement. “Criticisms instead have generated an artificial conflict between the rights of children and the rights of LGBT. Is this really the embodiment of the loyal cooperation enshrined in the Treaties?”

Varga said the new law was about guaranteeing the rights or parents and “guaranteeing the rights of parents and protecting minors from accessing content that may contradict the educational principles their parents chose to teach them until they become adults themselves”.

The minister also cited the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as stating that “the right of parents to ensure the education and teaching of their children in conformity with their religious, philosophical and pedagogical convictions” must be respected.

The minister added that sexual orientation and gender identity fell under strict constitutional protection in Hungary.

“In Hungary, everybody is free to express their sexual identity as they see fit, as Hungarian legislation guarantees fundamental rights to the full extent for each minority,” she said.

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Read alsoPM Orbán: Anti-paedophile law about protecting children, parents

PM Orbán: Anti-paedophile law about protecting children, parents

orbán grandson

Hungary’s new law against paedophilia stipulates that the sexual education of children is the responsibility of parents alone, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said ahead of a two-day meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels on Thursday, adding that the law served to protect both children and parents.

Speaking to reporters, Orbán said it was an “honour” for Hungary whenever another prime minister or the president of the European Council expressed interest in one of its laws.

Orbán said he was prepared to explain that the new law was not about homosexuality, but rather about the sex education of children.

The prime minister said it was “always better to read first” before reacting to a piece of legislation.

He said the law was about protecting parents’ right to decide on the sexual education of their children. “And the state’s job is to create the conditions for parents to be able to practise these rights,” Orbán said. “This is a law aimed at protecting children and parents.”

The prime minister said he was a “fighter” for gay rights. In the communist regime, “homosexuality was punished and I fought for their freedom and their rights,” Orbán said.

“So I am defending the rights of the homosexual guys, but this law is not about that.”

On another subject, Orbán praised the performance of Hungary’s national football team in its draw against Germany in their Euro 2020 group F match on Wednesday.

He cautioned against mixing sports with politics, saying that doing so risked excluding those with culturally opposing views.

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Read alsoPM Orbán: sexual education of children home duty, EC president’s statement is a shame

Hungary government rejects ‘groundless’ criticism of anti-paedophile law

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The Hungarian government has rejected what it called a “groundless offensive” by multiple European governments against Hungary over its new law on the protection of children and imposing stricter punishment for paedophilia, saying that the legislation was based on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The government’s official note verbale issued in response to a joint statement by 16 EU countries criticising the law was shared on Twitter by Zoltán Kováács, the state secretary for international communications and relations, late on Wednesday. Kovács said the signatories had not read the law and were not familiar with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

In the note verbale, the government said several EU governments had launched “a groundless offensive” against Hungary in recent days. “Hungary rejects these attacks,” it said. The new law does not discriminate against anyone, the government said, adding that it was in line with EU law and was based on the regulations of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

“The Hungarian law protects children’s rights and guarantees those of the parents, it does not apply to adults,” the note verbale said.

It said the joint statement cited the law incorrectly and left out substantive parts of the text. “The regulation put forward in the law protects children from all forms of sexuality, therefore it cannot be considered discriminative,” it added.

The government underlined that the law prohibits “the autotelic display, in the case of children, of not only homosexuality, but also sexuality as a whole”.

“Hence, the regulation is neither homophobic, nor heterophobic,” it said.

The note verbale cited the declaration in the EU Charter of Fundamental rights that “the right of parents to ensure the education and teaching of their children in conformity with their religious, philosophical and pedagogical convictions shall be respected, in accordance with the national laws governing the exercise of such freedom and right.”

In line with the EU Charter of Fundamental rights, sexual education in Hungary is primarily the task of parents, the government said. It added that everyone in the country was free to express their sexual identity, arguing that Hungarian laws guaranteed fundamental constitutional rights to all minorities, including sexual minorities.

“We call upon the governments of the signatory countries to refrain in the future from groundlessly defaming Hungary,” the government said.

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Opposition DK criticises Hungary’s new paedophilia law

gyurcsány demo

Hungary’s recent law against paedophile offenders was “designed as propaganda” and it “severely impacts minorities”, the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) said on Wednesday, adding that the party would tender a “real anti-paedophile” draft which would also focus on paedophile crimes within church organisations.

DK deputy group leader Ágnes Vadai told a press conference in front of Saint Stephen Basilica that several sexual crimes against children committed by members of the clergy had come to light in recent years, but the cases “never came before a court” while perpetrators had “stayed within the clergy”.

“Most of them are even allowed to work with children,” she added.

According to DK, child molesters should be banned from working with minors for life, and “clerics must not be an exception”.

Referring to legal stipulations that sexual crimes committed against children must be reported, Vadai suggested that that obligation should overwrite the seal of confession, too.

Under the DK draft, the Hungarian Catholic Church could be obliged to conduct a thorough investigation into cases of sexual abuse of children and publish their findings, she said.

Vadai said that the Catholic Church “should not think that all this is against them”, and suggested consultations with them to compile a draft “contributing to the cleansing of the Hungarian Catholic Church”.

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Read alsoEverything you need to know about the new Hungarian “homophobic” law

Will the Hungarian pension ever compare to the EU?

retirement-old-people-home

Regarding the sustainability of the current pay-as-you-go pension system, many different issues can be brought up. It is unsustainable; therefore, a point system described at the professional conference of the Hungarian Economic Society would change it so that the age limit and amount of the pension would also depend on the number of children raised by the individual.

The German pension calculation, for example, is based on the system of pension points introduced in 2001, in contrast to the Hungarian one currently in place. After each insurance year, each insured person receives a pension point that reflects their relative earnings in that year. The monthly amount of the pension is determined using the following formula: the number of personal pension points is multiplied by a bonus-malus multiplier, then the current pension value, and then by a multiplier depending on the type of pension.

Regarding the sustainability of the current pay-as-you-go pension system, the rapporteurs of the conference highlighted six different issues, wrote index.hu. They are the following:

  • The system is based on the ability of the next generation to finance the elderly, although the explanation of the creators was that it is based on the ability to pay contributions of the present generation.
  • Pensions are backed by implicit public debt. Although the amount that the state borrows as a loan to pay pensions does not appear in nominal terms, it still exists.
  • In this system, the elements of insurance and solidarity are mixed.
  • Once the state has been put behind the system as a guarantor, there is virtually no reserve behind the system.
  • It assumes a steady increase in the population, although, in theory, a decrease in the population should not be a problem due to an increase in productivity.
  • The system has practically undermined itself, given that it was not financially worthwhile to have a child.

Said József Banyár, a professor at the Corvinus University of Budapest, in his presentation on the topic.

Erzsébet Kovács, who also teaches at Corvinus, described the process with statistics, according to which while the proportion of women of childbearing age decreased spectacularly between 1999 and 2019, the proportion of women over the age of fifty and pensioners increased by about the same ratio. So contributions would have to be significantly increased to cover pensions.

Another serious problem is that the average number of children per family is only increasing in a minimal amount, much less than the required for future stability.

Although the system is based on contributions paid by active workers, it sees the child as a public good, which is a fundamental flaw.

If they consider who contributes to the maintenance of the pension system by giving birth to multiple children, influencing the amount of the allocated pension in proportion, that could be a possible solution that may be attempted in the future. This way, the ultimate financier would be practically the child.

Under the system mentioned before, the pension amount would be calculated by taking account of the number of pensions depending on the number of children raised.

As a consequence of the system, the pensions of the childless would be much lower, or their retirement age would have to be raised. People would pay a certain amount from the moment they start work, and from this, they would finance the period between the normal and the raised retirement age for the childless.

This could potentially prevent the further spread of the “problem group” that makes the current pension system unsustainable.

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Hungarian govt proposes anti-paedophile law with stricter measures, public list

Children Fear Pedophile Paedophile child abuse fidesz

In recent years, the number of crimes in Hungary committed against children seems to have increased. This involves abusing children, domestic violence, or even child pornography or rape. To help counter the latter crimes, the Hungarian government has announced a new measure that would establish a list of people who have committed sexual crimes against children.

According to 24, Fidesz-members Máté Kocsis and Gabrielle Selmeczi have submitted a bill that would tighten the penalty for sexual crimes against children and make a list of perpetrators to help defend the younger generation. Gabriella Selmeczi said that this bill would not allow paedophiles to hide and ever get close to another potential victim.

As 444 also reported, talks about the topic of child protection from paedophiles reignited last summer when Gábor Kaleta, the Hungarian government’s former Ambassador to Peru, was found guilty of storing child pornography on his computer.

Not long after the incident, Viktor Orbán himself promised that protecting children from sexual criminals would be the focal point of their legislation in autumn. Since then, nothing really happened, and what was really upsetting is that Gábor Kaleta only received one year suspended prison sentence and a fine of HUF 540,000 (€1,500)

The government has not used any of the bills submitted by the opposition politicians and has postponed the legislation in the matter until last Wednesday. The new measure seems strict at first, considering that a few years back, this question was regarded as an issue infringing on the safety of one’s information.

According to the new bill, the authorities should keep a tally of all criminals that have committed a sexual crime against children or underaged people, and that information should be available online.

It would not be a full website per se, but it would be relatively easy for anyone to access the list using their Ügyfélkapu (“Client Gate”, the government’s electronic identification system). The list would include the perpetrator’s full name, date of birth, city of residence, and their portrait.

One of the other main restrictions would be that if someone commits sexual crimes against someone under 12, or if the perpetrator is an official, the criminal penalties that could be imposed will be much harsher, 24 reports.

Gabriella Selmeczi also added that all who have committed a sexual crime against anyone under 18 should also be prohibited from exercising any profession or activity that involves the rearing, education, caring, supervision, treatment of people under the age of 18, or being in a relationship of power or influence with them, with definitive effect.

According to Hvg, who interviewed Ágnes Lux, a child rights expert, this might not help much in protecting children from future crimes. Most of the time, the perpetrator of a sexual crime against a child is a family member or close relative.

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Read alsoMan brutally stabs mother in the face in front of their 4-year-old child

Dark discovery: remains of 215 children found at former residential school in Canada

Residential School System Canada Illustration

The remains of 215 children, some as young as three years old, were found at the site of a former residential school for indigenous children, a discovery Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described as heartbreaking on Friday.

The children were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia that closed in 1978, according to the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation, which said the remains were found with the help of a ground penetrating radar specialist.

“We had a knowing in our community that we were able to verify,” Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Chief Rosanne Casimir said in a statement. “At this time, we have more questions than answers.”

Canada’s residential school system, which forcibly separated indigenous children from their families, constituted “cultural genocide,” a six-year investigation into the now-defunct system found in 2015.

The report documented horrific physical abuse, rape, malnutrition and other atrocities suffered by many of the 150,000 children who attended the schools,

typically run by Christian churches on behalf of Ottawa from the 1840s to the 1990s.

It found more than 4,100 children died while attending residential school.

The deaths of the 215 children buried in the grounds of what was once Canada’s largest residential school are believed to not have been included in that figure and appear to have been undocumented until the discovery.

Trudeau wrote in a tweet that the news “breaks my heart – it is a painful reminder of that dark and shameful chapter of our country’s history.”

In 2008, the Canadian government formally apologized for the system.

The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation said it was engaging with the coroner and reaching out to the home communities whose children attended the school. They expect to have preliminary findings by mid-June.

In a statement, British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief Terry Teegee called finding such grave sites “urgent work” that “refreshes the grief and loss for all First Nations in British Columbia.”

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Read alsoMan brutally stabs mother in the face in front of their 4-year-old child

Budapest Pinball Museum to be free for one child for every adult visitor on Sunday!

Pinball museum Budapest

It will be 150 years this Sunday, that Montague Redgrave an American game designer bridged the gap between table Bagatelle and Pinball.

On the 30th of May 1871, he patented the first game that resembles modern pinball, calling it “Improvements in Bagatelles.” His design introduced the spring-loaded plunger for launching the pinball.

The innovation turned out to be a real game-changer.

The birthday of pinball also coincides with Chldren’s Day. This is why we felt to remember this huge anniversary involving the little ones, too. We are going to celebrate 150 year-old pinball’s birthday by offering free entrance for children on the 30th of May (Sunday). On this day, one child (up to age 18) for every adult visitor may enter the premises for free.

Redgrave’s rare vintage bagatelle-pinball artifact is part of Budapest Pinball Museum’s collection.

The museum plans to continue the celebration of the game’s 150th birthday in the coming months. A crucial part of this will be the release of the book ‘The Museum of Pinball’ in June, to be published by Budapest Pinball Museum.

Man brutally stabs mother in the face in front of their 4-year-old child

Murder Knife Gyilkosság Késelés

The number of violent crimes seems to have increased in the past few years. And this brutal case is another evidence of how cruel people can be. After their relationship has worsened, a couple has decided to move away from each other, but they had a 4-year-old child. In an attempt to decide about the details of the parental controls, the couple met when the angered father stabbed his former partner with a knife in the head in front of their child.

The perpetrator and the victim were civil partners, and they had a baby back in 2016; however, as 24 reports, during their living together, their relationship has worsened, and they have decided to move out and away from each other.

There was a foreboding sign of the brutal attack, as the woman had reported to the authorities on the 27th of October that the man threatened her life when the perpetrator moved out.

As Hvg writes, the victim and the perpetrator met in the apartment of the man’s sibling in district III. in order to talk about the details of the parental controls. The victim has arrived at the scene with her parents, where her former partner waited for them. He led them to the apartment where the child was waiting with the perpetrator’s mother, says 24.

During the meeting, an argument sparked between the two former partners when the woman said she would like their child to go to the nearby loop kindergarten of the woman’s new home.

The 28-year-old perpetrator was angered and punched the woman in the face. The parents immediately tried to hold down the perpetrator, but he suddenly broke free. He took out a knife from his pocket and stabbed his former partner in the neck and head several times while shouting that he will kill her.

The prosecutor’s office reports that the grandparents have managed to push the 28-year-old perpetrator out of the apartment and blocked the door with their own bodies, preventing him from being able to get back in. They immediately contacted the police and the ambulance, but the man had fled the scene.

Miraculously the woman had managed to survive her injuries, and the man was arrested a few days later, on the 30th of October.

Because the perpetrator did all of this in front of their 4-year-old child, potentially scarring the child mentally and emotionally, the perpetrator can expect a severe sentence. The Hungarian prosecutor’s office recently published their update on the case that

the 28-year-old father, currently in custody, is accused of attempting to commit homicide and endangering a minor. The Budapest prosecutor’s office has filed a motion to impose a prison sentence on the perpetrator.

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Hungary takes over chairmanship of CoE council of ministers

council of europe

Hungary took over the chairmanship of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) from Germany at a meeting in Hamburg on Friday.

Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said after the meeting at which he briefed participants about the Hungarian Presidency’s programme running until Nov. 17, that Hungary had chosen three priority areas: national minority protection, religious communities, and the rights of children and families.

Concerning the protection of national minorities, Szijjártó highlighted Minority SafePack, an initiative urging European Union protection for national and linguistic minorities in the bloc, which the European Commission had not added to its agenda. The minister said he hoped Hungary’s chairmanship of the CoE council of ministers would lead to “Strasbourg doing a better job than Brussels”.

As regards the protection of religious communities, Szijjártó noted the issue of the persecution of Christians “in Europe’s neighbourhood”.

He said it was especially worrying that protests against the Israel-Palestine conflict had recently taken an “anti-Semitic turn” in several European countries.

Turning to the protection of children and families, the minister said the pandemic had forced many children to “join the digital space without experience”, making them vulnerable to cyber criminals and predators.

Szijjártó said the protection of families and children required broad European regulation, adding that Hungary, too, was introducing strict regulations in this area.

Szijjártó also said that the CoE provided a sufficient platform for “relaunching civilised dialogue” between the East and the West, which he said was all the more necessary in light of growing political conflicts.

Being a central and eastern European country, Hungary’s interest lies in dialogue, rather than conflict, he said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pledged his country’s support for the Hungarian presidency, adding that common values should guide its work.

Marija Pejcinovic Buric, the CoE’s secretary general, said the outgoing German presidency had “set a high bar”, adding that multilateral cooperation to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law was “perhaps more important than ever.”

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Foster children violently abused in Hungarian group home?

Children Abuse Violence Erőszak

Following a number of allegations of severely disadvantaged children living in unacceptable conditions in the institution in Kalocsa, the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights of Hungary ordered an inspection of the facility, the results of which were recently published.

As hvg.hu writes, the group home has long been the subject of media attention and subsequent investigations due to reports of aggressive behaviour, involving both caretakers and kids, the run-down state of the building, and the lack of proper pedagogical work. For instance, in 2013, four children living at the home were tried for hitting a teacher over the head with a metal rod, in an attempt to steal the keys of the institution and escape. In 2014, magyarnarancs.hu published an investigative piece about the group home, in which former employees and residents spoke of their experiences, revealing some truly shocking facts. According to their accounts,

kids were routinely fed tranquilisers, and there were examples of students being taken to a prison on a “field trip” or left alone while their teachers sat drinking on a nearby sports field.

This was followed up by an inspection in 2016 which mentioned further problems, such as the fluctuation and unpreparedness of employees and the use of cigarettes as a way of controlling students, that is, confiscating them in the case of misbehaviour and offering them as an incentive to get children to cooperate.

smoking, cigarette

In 2020, 24.hu published a series of articles about the group home, in which, in addition to shedding light on further violent acts (such as the nose and nipples of a student being twisted with pliers by a teacher) occurring within the walls of the institution, they also wrote about another scandal: as 444.hu had uncovered,

the priest trusted with the task of offering spiritual guidance to boys aged 10 to 18 had previously been charged with molestation,

in spite of which he was allowed to remain in his position.

The newest report, reviewed by 24.hu, describes the workforce situation of the group home as “improved”; however, it also lists several major issues:

  • children’s meals are lacking in quantity and/or nutrients;
  • kids are not educated according to their age, they are years behind;
  • the building is overcrowded;
  • aggression is made legal by the institution; furthermore, in order to become “part of the community”, new kids need to “fight their way in” while their teachers look on;
  • the group home does not deal appropriately with the matter of smoking.

The summary of the report says that they have not found proof of child abuse perpetrated by a caretaker; however, in the more detailed version, there are references to possible cases: for instance, one child admitted that they had been physically hurt by an adult, while another alluded to having experienced verbal aggression. An unnamed employee stated that the abusive caretaker mentioned in previous reports was still employed by the institution.

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Read alsoHungarian children will most often be victims of sexual exploitation in the EU

Five Hungarian siblings raised among terrible circumstances

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The Prosecutor’s Office of Eger has pressed charges against two parents whose lousy lifestyle led to endangering their five children’s lives. The kids were taken away by child services.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Daily News Hungary reports on the mistreat of Hungarian children. The number of child abuse cases is exceptionally high in the country.

Thousands of children are abused in Hungary 

Not long ago, we wrote about two professional foster parents who treated two kids brutally for whom they were supposed to take care. 
This case, however, is a bit different. Their parents did not physically harm these poor children. 

Between 2004 and 2016, the couple had five kids together, from whom the first one was unfortunately born with severe illnesses that required full-scale nursing and attention. Moreover, both parents had their own problems and issues aside.

The father had a close relationship with alcohol, while the mother often needed an extra push from medication and tranquilliser.

As 24.hu writes, these led to frequent fights that happened right in front of their children.

To top it off, the relationship and any sort of connection between the parents came to an end three years ago.

The father moved away from home and since then stopped supporting his family in every way.

As a consequence, the quality of life of these poor children deteriorated very quickly and very significantly.

On many occasions, they had to face starvation, had to go to school in dirty clothes and with an untreated lice infestation.

Due to the ongoing hygienic situation and the mother’s constant issues, apart from other problems she had to face, the kids were completely isolated from their friends and classmates; they were picked on and left without friends and companions. Naturally, it made them shy and reserved. Not an appropriate and desired social situation at all that children at their age need.

They repeatedly missed school due to the mentioned circumstances. As healthy living conditions and the possibility to attend school were not provided, one of the children was taken into custody and care by the authorities in 2016. His four siblings followed him two years later.

The parents seriously endangered their children’s mental, physical and emotional development by not complying with their obligations to take care of them. The oldest, ill child was placed in the care of a social institution. One of his younger brothers is raised in a group home, while the other three siblings found a home with foster parents.

The prosecution has asked to suspend the parents’ rights to exercise parental supervision and control over the children.

sad-child-sitting
Read alsoHungarian children will most often be victims of sexual exploitation in the EU