Government to consider 12 measures against violence among minors

The government will consider 12 measures to address violent behaviour among minors and violence between children, LRT reported, citing BNS.

The Social Security and Labour Ministry will present the proposals at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The measures are to be implemented by the end of this year.

They include a unified response procedure for violence against children and between children, a review of violence prevention measures in schools, and guidance for media representatives.

The ministry launched an interinstitutional meeting with relevant authorities in late July. The government is expected to task the ministry and several other ministries with implementing the measures in cooperation with the relevant institutions. The Social Security and Labour Ministry would also monitor the plan’s implementation.

The ministry’s adviser, Ignas Algirdas Dobrovolskas, said the initiative was prompted by a recent rise in concern over violence involving minors and highly publicised cases in Marijampole, Vilnius district, Siauliai and elsewhere.

He said institutions needed to respond in a coordinated, rapid and effective way rather than separately, adding that cooperation should be strengthened at the highest level.

In mid-July, a minor girl was beaten by her peers in Poetry Park in Marijampole. Other people at the scene watched and filmed the incident, and footage showing the violence spread on social media that same evening.

Other widely publicised cases were recorded this summer in Vilnius district and Siauliai, where teenagers were beaten and mocked by minors. The incidents were filmed and the footage was shared on social media.