Children were forced to beg Brutal Violence

November 22, 2009

Comment: The article describes a case in which youth from a children’s home in Kaposvar, Hungary, forced their younger peers to go out and beg for money for them. The minimum amount they had to collect was the equivalent of 15 euros per day, and they were forced to go back unless they collected this amount. They forced the smaller children by threats and violence. If a child was “grounded” (not allowed to leave the home), the boys would help him escape. The case was only discovered after one of the children forced to beg asked for money from a plain-clothed police officer.

The article is short and does not provide many details, but as such it points to the so far hidden violence that is rampant in children’s homes. Reporting of peer-to-peer, adult-to-child violence is quite low in Hungary in institutions, and one has to question whether children are really free to report such cases. There is a lack of adequate care in an institution where such things happen on a daily basis, without any of the people in charge noticing. Also, it seems the public in the city did not report begging children, it was only by chance that the case was discovered even though it must have been quite visible.