The issue of protecting children from domestic violence is particularly relevant in times of war

This was stated by Borys Hulko, President of the Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court, during the round table "Mechanisms for Judicial Protection of Children from Domestic Violence", which took place today, 20 October 2023, at the Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court.

Borys Hulko noted that the theme of the event concerns the youngest citizens of our country and their protection from domestic violence, which has become particularly relevant under martial law. The psychological strain of war, which affects the whole of society, has a particular impact on family relationships, where children are the most vulnerable.  

The President of the Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court pointed out that domestic violence is a global problem that every day damages the most precious human goods: honour and dignity, health and life. Without overcoming this dangerous phenomenon, it is impossible to create the conditions for human self-realisation, the development of a democracy of equality and the implementation of the principles of equal rights and opportunities for every citizen.

Borys Hulko noted that the purpose of the roundtable was to discuss joint action by public authorities to ensure adequate protection of children from domestic violence.

The Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, stressed that the protection of children from domestic violence is a complex process involving many mechanisms, including judicial ones. One of the most pressing issues in this area is parental child abduction.

The Ombudsman warned that the state would face a sharp increase in divorces as a result of the war-related trials, which would lead to a rise in domestic violence when one parent tries to take the child away from the other.

Thus, in 2022-2023, the Secretariat of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights received 157 complaints about unauthorised change of residence of a child by one of the parents. Of these, 41 complaints concerned the transfer of children within Ukraine, 4 concerned the transfer of children to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus and 122 concerned the transfer of children to other countries. According to Dmytro Lubinets, the problem is that there is no legal regulation for such situations.

The Ombudsman noted that the current legislation on abduction has certain gaps: the lack of effective legal mechanisms for the enforcement of court decisions on the determination of the child's place of residence, the removal of the child, the determination of the manner of participation in the child's upbringing, as well as the lack of liability for the unauthorised change of the child's place of residence, in particular contrary to the agreement, the decision of the guardianship and custody authority or the court.

In order to address these problems, the Commissioner considers that amendments should be made to the Law of Ukraine "On Enforcement Proceedings" and to the Civil Procedure Code of Ukraine in order to develop a legal mechanism for the enforcement of court decisions in cases of child abduction and to speed up the consideration of relevant civil cases, as well as to provide for liability for unauthorised change of residence of a child in the Criminal Code of Ukraine.  

In addition, the speaker stressed that in developing mechanisms to combat violence against children in all its manifestations, it is necessary to focus primarily on the experience of Western countries in order to ensure the best interests of the child.

Vasyl Bohdan, Head of the Juvenile Prevention Department of the National Police of Ukraine, said that the NPU was interested in reducing the number of such crimes against children related to parental child abduction and domestic violence.

Vasyl Bohdan quoted data that 508 children died and 1136 were wounded in the war. These figures are not final, as there is still temporary occupied territory and work is underway to document war crimes in the de-occupied territory.

According to the speaker, the war launched by the aggressor country has changed the life of every Ukrainian, from the young to the old. But while adults can make their own decisions and take measures to ensure their own safety, children need such protection from adults. Unfortunately, it is not only the external enemy that causes children to suffer. Phenomena such as domestic violence and parental child abduction did not disappear during the war and have become even more dangerous in the current situation.

Vasyl Bohdan added that this year the National Police received more than 216,000 statements and reports of domestic violence, including 7,000 from children. This year, 9,500 children have been confirmed as victims of domestic violence.

He said Ukraine had implemented the norms of international law, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), which it ratified last year. As a result, our country has a progressive legal framework in this area. However, the practical implementation of the legislation needs to be further developed and improved by all parties, including the National Police.

Vasyl Bohdan is convinced that only joint efforts will help protect children from violence and create a safe environment for them, and that by combining the efforts of all public authorities we will be able to overcome such shameful phenomena as domestic violence and parental child abduction.

Deputy Prosecutor General Viktoriia Litvinova noted the positive steps taken to address child protection issues under martial law, as children are traumatised not only by the situation in the country, but also by the failure of parents to fulfil their responsibilities.

The speaker pointed out that the Istanbul Convention defines the state's obligation to provide qualified assistance to women and children and to respond immediately to all forms of violence.

More than 5,000 criminal offences linked to domestic violence against children have been recorded, according to the speaker. In addition, the issue of protecting children who witness domestic violence and the need to provide them with psychological and social support remains relevant. Unfortunately, in practice, children who witness incidents of domestic violence are not always recognised as victims, she said. They are only recognized as victims if the physical violence was directly aimed at the child.

According to statistics, in a majority of cases, the parents themselves are the culprits and hence, can't act as appropriate legal representatives for children in such situations.

Viktoriia Litvinova said that in recent years the phenomenon of parental child abduction has become more active, causing children to suffer.

She said there was currently a sufficient base of international legislation, which provided an impetus for the development of national legislation and for filling in the gaps one by one. The Convention on the Rights of the Child states that the State shall ensure that a child is not separated from his or her parents against their will and that a child who is separated from one of his or her parents has the right to maintain regular personal relations and direct contact with both parents, unless this is contrary to the best interests of the child. Similar positions are expressed by the ECtHR in its judgments, in particular that parents should have equal rights in custody disputes and that the best interests of the child may sometimes, depending on their nature and gravity, prevail over the interests of the parents.

The roundtable "Mechanisms for Judicial Protection of Children from Domestic Violence" was jointly organised by the Civil Cassation Court of the Supreme Court and the NGO Prevent.

More detailed information about the event and the presentations made by the participants will be published later in the Supreme Court's resources.