A terrible side of quarantine that no one would want to see: children in families are asking for help, murders are on the rise

The number of murders increased

According to police representative Ramūnas Matonis, the number of murders and robberies increased during the quarantine.

“If we talk about crime during the quarantine period, there has been an increase in homicides (48% more), as well as an increase in robberies (10%), and serious crime, that would be basically all. And there is also a increase in driving, where people are diagnosed with more than one and a half percent of drunkenness, with minor health problems of 15 percent. and 17% of cases of human terrorism, and all other crimes show a downward trend, “he said.

“Almost all killings are committed in the immediate environment or between close people, and serious crimes committed in public places are units.” All other crimes are domestic, drunk when people drink alcohol for a day or a few days, and then grab a knife, ax, and other sharp objects. In some cases, people remain alive, and sometimes it ends with very sad consequences and people are killed, ”said a police spokesman.

The situation is also quite sad with the fines imposed by the police during the quarantine. According to a police spokesperson, many people are in no rush to pay the fines. “It just came to our attention then. In total, since April 3, when the police acquired the right to punish for these violations, the police have drawn up more than 3,100 protocols. According to today’s data, about a third of people they paid the fines, “said R. Matonis about the situation.

The children could not even communicate with their parents.

In the program, Ilma Skuodienė, director of the State Service for the Protection and Adoption of Children’s Rights, also told more about the reports she received during the quarantine.

“Almost all of our reports, about 90 percent, came from the police on domestic violence. Most of the reports were when there was violence, anger, conflict and accidents between two adults.

It is very important to mention that there are also children in that family and they are on the side of the victims, although the violence is not directed directly at them, but the children grow up in a violent environment. Comparing the five months of 2020 and 2019, the number of crimes increased statistically, but the circle of whistleblowers decreased.

The children, according to the interlocutor, also reported that they could not meet with the parents. “Children also report violence when they rescue their parents, but in reality they also report in such a situation. There are situations in which children themselves report conflicts in the family, and there has been an increase in situations in which children report who have not contacted a parent. “

Children are more likely to suffer

Babies are particularly vulnerable, according to the interlocutor.

“Babies generally suffer more because babies need our special care and concentration. There certainly have been children in the family of victims last year, and there are events this year that testify to this. I want to once again invite parents who will quickly return to work after quarantine to assess whether their older children are able to care for the younger ones, whether the physical environment is truly safe and adapted, whether there are no sharp or flammable objects, or if there is no possibility of falling from a height. There have certainly been situations where the windows have remained open and children are intrinsically curious, and that curiosity leads to disaster. I would definitely invite my parents to take care of the environment and make sure that environment is safe for children, ”said I. Skodienė.

“The number of reports of children violating their rights in the family has increased several times, and the number of close relatives has increased in dozens of reports of conflicts in the family and the child’s suffering.” This means that there is no more violence, but the number of reports is growing, we appreciate and identify it. According to the statistics, we can also mention that boys suffer more often, the critical age is 10 years and it is close to adolescence, while girls suffer more sexually, “she assured.

Challenges for teleworking

One of the biggest challenges faced during the quarantine was the services that had to adapt to the significantly changed situation.

“It is really very difficult to assess the violation of a child’s rights remotely. Of course, in difficult conditions, specialists received the necessary facilities and went to families. But what was really difficult to provide was services directly to the families. families that were needed, such as parenting skills groups, children and adolescent groups, psychological groups, it really took time for those services to reorient, “said the interlocutor.