assault allegations made by the child and maintained that A.H. was inebriated and was making
threats of violence and harm directed at the supervisor and his family. The supervisor
immediately notified the police of the incident, and the child filed a complaint with the Child
Protection Department in the town of Rakitovo on 30 November 2015. Upon talking to the
student and the supervisor, the NPM team reviewed the video surveillance footage of the
incident, but it was not possible to reach an unambiguous conclusion about the occurrence. The
NPM insists, in view of the seriousness of the allegations, that the competent authorities
conduct an in-depth and effective child abuse investigation, which should result in revealing the
objective truth.
In talking to the children, they expressed their satisfaction with the opportunity to work as
hirelings in the town. Most of them came from institutions or from low-income families and did
not have the means to meet certain basic needs. The NPM needs to, once again, point out the
need for regulations and guidelines on the employability of institutionalized children and
adolescents, given that their engagement in paid work is a real social fact even now.
All of the previously mentioned problems and frustrations associated with escorting children to
court hearings and hospitals were shared by the staff at the CBS in the town of Rakitvo as well.
The NPM team reviewed the anti-bullying and harassment register, and the inmate boys'
personal files. The files contained court orders, individual programs for correctional education
work and resocialization, need assessments, reports from local Juvenile Delinquency
Commissions, reports on follow up measures. In the opinion of the NPM, the casework plans
were standard and identical, and did not meet the children’s individual needs. Out of all court
decisions randomly reviewed, the NPM found just one, which had been appealed, at the legal
representative’s request, to the competent appellate court insisting that the correctional
measure be repealed.
During the interviews, the NPM team received a number of complaints about an unlawful
punishment involving detention (grounding) in an isolation room. In cases of serious
misconduct, children would be grounded in a designated isolation room and would not be
allowed to leave it except for meals. These allegations are extremely worrying in view of the
rights of the children placed in the boarding school. The NPM identifies such practice as
inhuman treatment. It should be discontinued by the boarding school administration without
delay.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Improve the interaction between the assistant medical officer and the GP; ensure that the
GP has access to students’ medical documents stored currently in their administrative
files;
CBS and SPBS Rules and Regulations should lay down the procedure for collecting and
storing health-related information in boarding schools;
Ensure sufficient intake of fresh vegetables and dairy products;
The practice of allowing students to work outside the institution without professional
supervision should be discontinued;
Provide supervision for staff members and hire an external psychologist to work towards
restoring the foundation of trust between the children and the boarding school staff;
Take urgent measures to end student drug and alcohol use at the boarding school;
Every incident of violence, aggression or abuse by boarding school staff should be
thoroughly documented;
65
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