Beating of minors: punishment and responsibility

Currently, unfortunately, cases of mental and physical violence against minors are not uncommon. One of its forms is beating, beating, and torturing the victim. As a rule, conflict situations arise in educational institutions (kindergarten, school) and in the company of other minors.

In this publication, we will determine what the threat (amount and type of liability) is for beating minors, the procedure for filing and considering an application regarding this fact.

Parents beat their child, what should I do?

In Russia, 40% of serious violent crimes are committed in families. Children also suffer. They are killed, raped, beaten. As a rule, the torment of a child and the inappropriate behavior of fathers and mothers are noticeable to neighbors, but not every one of them knows where to turn for help.

The Criminal Code does not provide for liability for failure to report cases of beating of children to law enforcement agencies; this is a matter of conscience.

Caring people have many ways to protect a child within the framework of the law. To do this, there is no need to even enter into direct conflict with the offenders. There are structures that are obliged to ensure the safety of a child upon learning that he is being beaten.

What to do if the beating caused damage to health

If a beating at school results in injury or severe bodily harm, then emergency measures must be taken. In this case, you need to call the police and a medical worker (school doctor or ambulance) to the scene of the incident. If it is impossible to do this, it is necessary to request the school administration to draw up an incident report, which indicates:

• date and time of the fight;
• persons who participated in it;
• consequences;
• special circumstances (if any);
• FULL NAME. employees of the institution who witnessed the event.

Next, go to the nearest medical facility and record the fact of damage to the student’s health, indicating the degree of severity. What the parents of a child who was beaten at school should do next depends on what they want to achieve as a result:

• simply bring the offender to justice under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which is possible when he reaches the age of 16, in order to prevent such behavior in the future (in this case, it is enough to submit an application to the local police department);
• in addition to punishing the offender, receive compensation for moral and physical harm caused to the child (in this case, an additional claim is filed in court for compensation for harm).

Where to go if neighbors beat a child?

Where to turn if parents beat their children depends on the specific situation.

If you directly witness parents brutally beating a child, call the police. A squad will arrive when called. Employees will record the fact of beating and send the child for a medical examination. Based on the conclusion of the forensic expert, it will be decided what type of liability can be brought against abusive parents. In any case, the question of temporary isolation of a beaten child and the restriction of parental rights for criminals will certainly arise. Further deprivation of rights to children in court cannot be ruled out.

More often, neighbors do not see that a child is being beaten, but information about the beating leaks out in other ways, for example:

• in the neighbors’ apartment they often yell, make trouble, and hear a child crying;
• the child appears on the street exhausted, fearful, abrasions and bruises are visible on his body;
• the mother or legal representative of the child avoids talking about his psychological and physical condition;
• other children who know him or her tell about the beating of a child by his mother, father or stepfather, or relatives;
• Other neighbors, who are not ready to go anywhere officially with their suspicions, gossip about the cruel treatment of parents and children.

In cases where it is not known for certain whether the parents are beating the child, but there is still a need to check, you should contact:

• to the local police station. If the work of the district police officer does not inspire confidence, you can send a statement or make an appointment with a higher authority;
• to the guardianship and trusteeship authorities. This is a body whose powers allow it to carry out appropriate checks, involve the police, and file lawsuits in court;
• to the prosecutor's office. This supervisory body has the broadest powers and capabilities, including the ability to check the work of both police officers and guardianship employees;
• to the Commissioner for Children's Rights. It should be borne in mind that the commissioner will need to send requests and requests for inspections to the police, guardianship or prosecutor's office, and this will take time;

Turning to the media for help is becoming popular. However, it is necessary to understand that communicating with a journalist is one thing, open judgment, for example, on social networks is another matter. It is possible to go from being a public defender to becoming a victim of criminal prosecution. Therefore, wherever you decide to go with a statement that a child is being beaten, consult a lawyer to avoid mistakes.

What should a teenager who is beaten at home do?

A teenager who is being bullied at home should first seek help at school. It is enough to contact any teacher who inspires trust. The teacher, in turn, will independently contact the guardianship authorities. Employees will check and notify the police.

You can trust your friends who will tell their parents, let your relatives and neighbors know - they will decide where to turn. If there are no people who would like to open up, but there are bruises from beatings, something hurts (there may be internal injuries) - you need to go to the emergency room. It is not necessary to tell who beat, where they beat and when. Doctors are required by law to report injuries to the police, and they are required to find out who beat the child.

Many teenagers are afraid to reveal the situation to others. But the pain and humiliation should not be endless. If you don’t want to seek help anywhere, you just need to not hide your physical injuries. Both school employees, acquaintances, neighbors, and caring people will definitely notice this and provide help. The police and guardianship authorities will figure it out themselves and protect the teenager who is being beaten.

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What should a teacher do?

A teacher should help in a situation where he suspects violence in a student’s family. Although the law does not oblige him to intervene.

To begin with, you should try to talk with your child in a confidential tone. You can gently ask how things are at home. But this should be a very subtle conversation, because children do not like aggressive attacks on their parents.

Before taking further steps, it is good to make sure that there are signs of beating on the body.

Of course, we do not have the right to undress a child, but we can cheat. For example, with the help of a nurse: send him for some kind of fake medical examination to see if there are bruises and characteristic wounds.

If the teacher is sure that physical punishment exists in the family, he should contact a social worker and educational psychologist. Together they will decide what to do.

The first step is to call the parents to the school and have a tactful, careful conversation. The situations in which domestic violence occurs can vary. Imagine a family: eight children, mom is a cleaner working three shifts, and dad drinks. It is absolutely clear that taking it out on a child is a mother’s logical reaction to her terrible life. And in this situation, it is better to offer help rather than threaten punishment. For example, contact social services, guardianship authorities, which not only select children, but also have the opportunity to help.

If it becomes clear from communication that this is not a normal parent, but absolute evil, then a psychologist, social teacher, and guardianship authorities have the right to come to the child’s home and see what is happening there.

In this case, the law comes into play. For example, according to Article 77 of the Family Code, a child can be taken away from the family within 24 hours if his life and health are threatened.

If temporary isolation of a child from the family is necessary, the children go to a social rehabilitation center (SRC), where they live for some time.

For many, this place evokes chthonic horror: it is believed that they beat people there, kill them, that there is a terrible nightmare there. But my practice shows that this is not so. Modern SRCs - at least in Moscow - are arranged quite well. Many children said that they had a rest there: they ate well and slept well. Yes, it’s not a world of pink ponies, but at home these guys have complete darkness.

Children can return to their families if the parents reform and eliminate the reasons why the child was taken from them.

Article for child abuse

Punishment for child abuse is inevitable. Any violent actions that cause physical pain are subject to a fine of up to 30 thousand rubles, arrest for up to 15 days, and compulsory labor for up to 120 hours. Responsibility for beatings with hooligan motives:

• compulsory work up to 360 hours;
• correctional labor for up to 1 year;
• restriction of freedom up to 2 years;
• forced labor for up to 2 years;
• arrest for up to six months;
• imprisonment for up to 2 years.

If a child is physically injured, even slightly, the liability is greater. The applicable articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in this case depend on the severity of the damage. The severity of bodily injuries (external and internal) is determined based on the conclusion of a forensic expert.

Intentional infliction of physical or mental suffering on a minor through systematic beatings or violent acts is punishable under Art. 117 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The penalty is imprisonment for a term of 3 to 7 years.

In addition to responsibility for pain, torture, and harm to the health of the child, his parents or legal representatives are responsible for cruel treatment. The punishment for this is:

• fine up to 100 thousand rubles. or in the amount of the perpetrator’s income for a period of up to a year;
• compulsory work up to 440 hours;
• correctional labor for up to 2 years;
• forced labor or imprisonment for up to 3 years with possible deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities for up to 5 years.

Statement about beating a child at school

The procedure for filing and considering a complaint about beating depends on the number of incidents.

If the beating took place once, then we are talking about the crime of “beating”. If they beat you systematically, then these acts fall under the category of “torture.”

Important!

If you file a complaint regarding beatings, you can submit it either to the police or directly to the court.

If all the teacher’s personal data is not completely known, then in practice they contact the police, police officers take measures aimed at establishing the identity of the guilty person, and then transfer the materials with the indictment to the court. For this category of cases, the investigation period cannot exceed 1 month. Before transferring the case to court, the investigator approves the indictment from the prosecutor. The latter has the right to confirm the indictment or return the criminal case for additional inquiry.

If the personal information of the perpetrator is known, the victim (in this case his legal representative) has the right to send a statement regarding the fact of the beating directly to the magistrate’s court.

Important!

The application is sent to the court with copies according to the number of guilty persons. This document must indicate that the applicant has been notified of criminal liability for knowingly false denunciation.

The statement states:

• name of the court and its address;
• the event of the crime, its time, place and circumstances of its implementation;
• request for acceptance of materials for production;
• personal data of the victim, his passport data;
• personal information of the suspect;
• list of witnesses to be called;
• applicant's signature.

Important!

Torture is not a matter of private prosecution, unlike beatings; the accusation is of a public nature, therefore a criminal case is initiated not only at the request of the victim (legal representative), but also on the basis of documents identifying signs of a crime (for example, a report).

An application to the police department regarding this crime is sent in any form, but it should clearly indicate the contact and passport details of the applicant, describe the crime event (date, time, place, alleged criminal) and make a note that the applicant has been notified of the fact that a false denunciation entails liability under Article 306 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The statement can also be made orally to a police officer, which is entered into the protocol. The specified document is signed by the applicant and the person who accepted the application (drawing up the protocol).

Based on the results of consideration of the application, a criminal case is initiated within 3-10 days or a decision is made to refuse to initiate a criminal case. The latter can be appealed to the prosecutor's office.

ATTENTION!

Due to recent changes in legislation, the information in this article may be out of date!
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Crime and Punishment: Why You Shouldn’t Beat Children and How to Reasonably Correct Their Behavior

There are many adequate ways to improve relationships with a child without resorting to physical violence. Let's look at the long term first. It involves meticulously building trusting relationships. To do this, you need to do simple, but at the same time very important things: always be on the child’s side, teach him to have detailed conversations with you, and understand the reasons for his or her reactions. Yes, this method is very expensive: building such a connection takes a lot of resources, personal effort, and free time. However, it pays off in the best possible way, because the parent’s authority does not depend on the degree of fear experienced in front of him, but on how strong the trust and closeness is in the family.

At the same time, resolving the issue peacefully does not mean that the child should be allowed everything. In addition, if you urgently have to apply physical force to your child, for example, when he got into a fight with a classmate, do it in such a way as not to cause him pain: instead of slapping him on the head, just hug him tightly, fixing his body so as not to give him the opportunity to continue brawl.

Remember the importance of rewarding desired behavior: the best thing you can do is not take it for granted. As for punishments, there is no need to exclude them from education, it is only important that they be fair. A method that works well is deprivation of privileges in the form of pocket money, going to the cinema or other entertainment. This way you will also make a connection between bad behavior and its possible consequences, without affecting the offspring's personality. At the same time, it is very important to first agree with your son or daughter about the consequences so that they also consider them fair.

Now let's discuss what you can do when you are already upset about your child's inappropriate behavior.

1. Tell your child about your feelings: despair, resentment, anger. Explain the reason for these feelings.
2. If you lost your temper, shouted, or even slapped him on the head, you should ask for forgiveness.
3. Explain to your child that you do not ignore and acknowledge his negative emotions.
4. Be sure to discuss fair punishments for misbehavior with your children.
5. Discuss “safety precautions”: agree that if the situation escalates, you will go to different rooms for 10 minutes.

Please note: putting these tips into practice is nearly impossible when parents are feeling angry or frustrated. If you realize that you may not be able to restrain yourself, pause, breathe, and postpone punishment and discussion of the child’s behavior. Take a break, and then make a decision while in a sober mind. If you can’t cope with your emotions, ask your loved ones for help.

The child's psyche is fragile, so it needs to be protected from a young age. Pets cope well with this task, the presence of which has a beneficial effect on the development of children.