Everyone who sees such a situation must react. It cannot be that the household members do not want the child at home and it has to wander. This is a case that the family court must consider – this is how Dr. Marek Michalak, director of the Janusz Korczak Institute for Children's Rights, commented on the dramatic story of the seven-year-old from Bydgoszcz on TVN24. The expert answered, among other things, whether the “Kamilka Act” will help fight indifference to violence against children.
On Friday on tvn24.pl we told the story of a seven-year-old girl who was noticed by a policeman on his way to work by the tracks in Bydgoszcz. During the conversation with the officer, the girl said that her mother had thrown her out of the house and told her to look for her father. She added that she was afraid for her four-year-old sister who had stayed at home.
– In such cases, it is absolutely necessary to quickly secure the welfare of the child that has been encountered. We must act immediately and no one can remain indifferent – said the TVN24 guest.
He noted that in the case of the seven-year-old, the system worked – a police officer took an interest in the child and a reaction was taken before the tragedy occurred. – Of course, the system cannot act thoughtlessly. It cannot be, for example – and fortunately it was not – that the police would take the child to the perpetrator – said Marek Michalak.
“Kamilek's Act”
In this respect, as the expert pointed out, the system responded much better than in the case of Kamil, from whose name the new legal regulations were taken, in theory helping to effectively protect children from violence. Will this happen? Dr. Marek Michalak emphasized that “the value of each legal document can only be assessed with hindsight.”
– It should be noted, however, that this legal document clearly states that child protection is absolute, that every institution and person representing it must be vigilant and active. We hope that children will be safer and that adults will react more boldly to symptoms indicating that a child may be harmed, that they may be at risk – the TVN24 guest emphasized.
No excuses
Dr. Marek Michalak pointed out that the new legal regulations in force since August 15 mean that representatives of institutions that have contact with a child will not be able to explain, after discovering harm to a child, that they did not notice any disturbing signals.
– Everyone must have a strategy, a way of acting, how to react. We need to conduct questionnaires, i.e. cards that must be filled in and checked for any disturbing symptoms. If they appear, we need to alert a number of institutions, from the social welfare center through the police, family court and prosecutor's office – the TVN24 interviewee listed.
The appeals fell on deaf ears
When asked why the legal system was only changed now, the TVN24 guest replied that “you should ask the people responsible (for the legislation – ed.) about that”.
– I have repeatedly appealed for the creation of a national strategy for the protection of children and have received responses, including from Prime Minister Szydło and Prime Minister Morawiecki, that there is no such need, that children in Poland are well protected – said Dr. Michalak.
The expert expressed hope that now “any form of violent treatment of a child will meet with very clear resistance from the state.”
– We are obliged to react. If we see a child being harmed, we must not turn our heads the other way, we must give them a hand. It is our business and our task to make children feel the most important – concluded the TVN24 guest.
A lonely seven-year-old girl by the tracks
The dangerous situation that the TVN24 guest referred to occurred on Wednesday, August 7, in Bydgoszcz. Senior Constable Jakub Milanowski from Bydgoszcz's Śródmieście district, on his way to work, stopped by his family for a moment. It was already after 10 p.m. When he got there, he noticed a little girl wandering by the tracks.
– The officer approached the child. During the conversation, it turned out that the girl was 7 years old. She said that her mother had bitten her hand and thrown her out of the house so that she could look for her father. She added that she was afraid for her four-year-old sister, who had stayed with her mother – told us asp. Krzysztof Bratz from the Municipal Police Headquarters in Bydgoszcz.
The policeman determined where the girl lived. He called a patrol and went to the address himself.
The girls' mother and father were drunk
– A 33-year-old woman opened the door, and the police immediately detected a strong odor of alcohol coming from her. It turned out that she had 2.6 per mille in her system – Bratz said.
He added that the woman insisted that she was home alone. However, the officers did not believe her and checked the rooms. In one of the rooms they found a four-year-old girl. – In the meantime, the 43-year-old father of the children returned. He had 1.3 per mille of alcohol in his system – said the press officer.
The parents were detained until they sobered up, and the girls were taken to the Bydgoszcz Complex of Care and Education Facilities.
– The 33-year-old was charged with exposing her children to the risk of losing their lives or health. The prosecutor placed the woman under police supervision. The further fate of the children remains in the hands of the Bydgoszcz Family and Juvenile Court – Bratz added.
The girl was helped by Senior Constable Jakub Milanowski from the city centre of Bydgoszcz.Municipal Police Headquarters Bydgoszcz
The proceedings, under the supervision of the prosecutor's office, are conducted in accordance with Article 160 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code: “If the perpetrator has an obligation to take care of a person exposed to danger, he or she shall be subject to a penalty of imprisonment from 3 months to 5 years.”
Main image source: Mikhail Goloveshkin/Shutterstock