Girl’s death in Kaspiysk highlights problem of violence against children

Cases of violence against children in Northern Caucasus have become more public and attract people’s attention, but their number is not decreasing, since cruelty and beating children “for educational purposes” have been considered in society as a norm.

On April 22, investigators brought charges against a woman from Kaspiysk, whose three-year-old daughter died after being beaten. The guardianship authorities demand to deprive the woman of rights to three of her other children.

The death of a child always causes a wide public outcry, and society reacts more sharply to such cruelty, believes Ekaterina Neroznikova, a coordinator of the “Marem” human rights group. The activist has noted that a negative public reaction to violence against children is needed before the child dies.

“Unfortunately, there have been many such cases of cruelty lately, and the level of violence is increasing ... Now it is considered a normal situation – abnormal and cruel – to beat children, explaining that this is an educational measure,” emphasized Saida Sirazhudinova, the President of the Centre for the Study of Global Issues of Modernity and Regional Problems “Caucasus. World. Development”.

Human rights defender Ekaterina Neroznikova notes that individual cases of child abuse become known, but most remain unrecorded and are not made public. At the same time, cases of violence against children have begun to attract more public attention.