According to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republika Srpska (RS) and the Federal Police Administration, in the last year, almost 100 children were sexually abused in various ways.
Last year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RS registered a total of 60 criminal acts of sexual abuse and child exploitation, said Mirna Miljanovic, head of the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RS.
According to Federal Police Administration data, 126 crimes against sexual integrity were recorded last year, for which 112 persons were reported, of which 31 were arrested. It was established that there was an increase in the number of these criminal acts, and the most recorded acts of fornication, 56 of them, were filed against 53 people, and eight were arrested.
In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), 18 criminal offenses of exploiting a child or minor for pornography, 18 rapes, 16 sexual relations with a child, and four criminal offenses of introducing a child to pornography were recorded.
Neuropsychiatrist Alma Bravo-Mehmedbasic, a permanent court expert, is of the opinion that a greater number of cases have been recorded because today children are more informed and less hesitant to report various manipulations, while previously they did not even react.
Repressed traumas
”Children are now exposed to the influence of the media, they have cell phones and get more information through them. In addition, these reports also disturb parents and they tell their children more about being safe and that they can be abused. It does not mean that everything is abuse, some people nicely say that a child is beautiful and pat him on the head, and that is no longer allowed in today’s circumstances,” Bravo-Mehmedbasic stated.
She notes that it does not mean that there is no sexual abuse of children, but that it was mostly kept silent, whether it was abuse from relatives or from teachers.
”It is better to report and that the children are informed because sexual abuse leaves incalculable consequences on psychosexual development. In psychotherapy, we used to get to those cocooned, repressed traumas that caused various neurotic states, and which later affected the personality structure, leaving consequences,” she adds, Vijesti.ba reports.
E.Dz.