The Czech government is preparing a program to prevent violence in society and strengthen security in the country. It focuses on a safe childhood. It was introduced on Tuesday by Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan, who called it the most important step in the prevention of events such as last year’s tragic shooting at Charles University (UK), reports the TASR correspondent in Prague.
The program will focus on safe childhood and children’s mental health
According to Rakušan, society does not pay enough attention to children and their mental health. “This program is a response to the call of the academic environment for the state to say in a coordinated and clear manner that mental health is something that we as a society must try to take care of,” said the minister.
Together with the government commissioner for human rights, Klára Šimáčková Laurenčíková, they pointed out the deteriorating state of children’s mental health and also the increase in child crime. “The trend of increasing crime among children and youth logically has far-reaching social consequences, because the crime of young people poses a threat to the overall security and stability of society,” Rakušan said.
According to Šimáčková Laurenčíková, the topic of violence prevention and safe childhood is closely related to the topic of internal security in the entire society. “Experience with violence in childhood is a fundamental risk factor for committing mass shootings and mass murders,” she pointed out. According to her, up to 80 percent of children with problematic behavior grew up in a destructive traumatic environment, experiencing bullying or violence.
The aim of the authors of the program is therefore for children to grow up in a safe environment, which, according to them, is a basic prerequisite for reducing the danger of radicalization of violence in society.
One of the measures being prepared is the creation of a commission that will analyze every sudden death of a child. Her task will be to evaluate individual cases and look for where the system could have reacted differently and prevented the child’s death. Another is the consistent introduction of the so-called KID card (cooperation, identification, trust), which is supposed to be a guide for all people working with children on how to recognize a child at risk.
The plenipotentiary identified sustainable financing of the security line as essential – the number of calls is continuously increasing. She pointed out that every second child calls on her on the first try. The goal is for all children to speak on the first try.
Innovative forms of support are also being prepared, for example field family assistance or joint foster care. They should help families who do not have good parenting skills or are going through an acute life crisis. The plan is also to prepare a handbook for future parents with information aimed at building a relationship between children and parents. According to the authors of the program, parents who experienced a traumatic childhood had nowhere to learn many skills.
