Klaipėda opens centre to help children affected by sexual violence

Klaipėda on Thursday opened Lithuania’s second specialised assistance centre for children affected by sexual violence, while also launching efforts to teach more than 10,000 children how to recognise such behaviour, LRT reported.

Social Security and Labour Minister Inga Ruginienė said the only other centre had operated in Vilnius, forcing children and families from other parts of Lithuania to travel to the capital for specialised help.

“It is not the child and the family who should rush after help; help should be closer to the child and the family,” Ruginienė said at the opening.

The Klaipėda centre will bring together procedures required for criminal investigations, including medical examinations of children who have experienced violence, interviews with a psychologist in a child-friendly environment and psychological assessments.

It will also provide continuing psychological and psychotherapeutic assistance to children and their relatives.

According to the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service, 422 children experienced sexual violence last year. A further 165 cases had been recorded by July this year.

Service director Ilma Skuodienė said the actual number could be higher because not all cases had been identified or reported.

She said the centre would help officers interview children, conduct examinations and psychological assessments when needed, and provide continuing psychotherapeutic support to children and their families.

The service expects to reach more than 10,000 children with information on how to recognise sexual violence, set boundaries and report inappropriate behaviour.

“I hope these homes will not be a place only about numbers, but a place where children’s lives are truly saved,” Skuodienė said.