Nine children in Lithuania experience violence from relatives daily, official report finds

Nine children in Lithuania suffer violence at the hands of relatives every day, according to a report presented to parliament by Ilma Skuodienė, director of the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service. The findings were published Tuesday by public broadcaster LRT.

In 2025, the agency recorded 4,000 suspected cases of child abuse—a nearly 10% increase from the previous year. Boys were victims in 55% of cases, data showed.

Edita Žiobienė, the Child Rights Ombudsperson, highlighted parental divorce and child support disputes as major contributing factors. Many fathers, she noted, evade financial responsibility by concealing income or lacking earnings altogether. “We strongly urge lawmakers to address how child support enforcement can be improved,” Žiobienė said.

Social Protection Minister Jūratė Zailskienė announced planned amendments to the Child Rights Protection Law, inviting expert input to “simplify or redirect” policies where needed.

The agency receives roughly 55,000 reports of potential child rights violations annually, with 70% confirmed. Police provide 60% of reports, while children’s own disclosures prove accurate in nearly 80% of cases.

Last year, 7,000 children required safe housing due to abuse, parental intoxication, or other risks. While 49 children were adopted—all by Lithuanian families—none were over age 10, despite 338 older children awaiting placement. “It’s regrettable that not a single child aged 10–17 was adopted,” Skuodienė said.

As of 2025, 967 children lived in group homes, compared to over 4,000 in family-based care. Two infants were abandoned in “baby boxes.”

Žiobienė also criticized weak noise regulations for shooting ranges, citing harm to children’s physical and mental health, and called for clearer rules on their operation. She flagged inclusive education as another under-resourced area, lacking both funding and personnel.