In the aftermath of the recent case of a Slovak girl from the Bratislava borough of Ružinov who died after allegedly being tortured by her stepfather, the Social Affairs and the Family Centre (ÚPSVaR), part of the Labour Ministry, has filed a criminal complaint in the matter, the TASR newswire reported on Wednesday, September 26, quoting ÚPSVaR spokesman Peter Zeman.
ÚPSVaR’s move was prompted by an internal investigation into the case in which officials discovered that the social worker responsible for the case had apparently neglected his or her duties. The social worker failed to notice that the girl was missing for three years, even though she should have been attending primary school for at least two years. Significantly, the failure of attempts to make contact with the girl was not reported.
After the case surfaced on September 17, ÚPSVaR ordered nationwide checks on all cases involving suspicions of child abuse. "All control sections of ÚPSVaR and the individual labour, social affairs and family centres in Slovakia participated [in the checks]," said Zeman.
The stepfather of the dead girl has already been arrested by police and charged with torturing her.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
