At the Annual Meeting of Child Protection Professionals, the experiences related to the placement of trafficked minors and the possibilities for further development of the system were evaluated on 12 May 2023.
As previously reported, a new referral mechanism was introduced in the Child Protection Act from 1 July 2020 with a view to protecting against the risks of sexual exploitation: minors offering sexual services in public places are taken by the police to special children's home. The Act on Minor Offences has been modified accordingly: it provides impunity for the misdemenaour of prohibited prostitution if the offender is under 18 years of age. In the three years since the new legislation was introduced, nearly 50 children have been placed in the designated institutions.
At the beginning of the conference organized by the Kalocsa Children's Home, Dr. Géza Filvig, mayor of Kalocsa and Gábor Juhász, director of the children's home welcomed the participants, followed by the Archbishop of Kalocsa, Dr. Balázs Bábel and Sándor Font, Member of Parliament, who shared their thoughts on the protection of children at risk.
On behalf of the Ministry of Interior, pol. first lieutenant Márton Berkes presented the international regulatory models of prostitution, the domestic legal framework as well as the measures of the National Anti-Trafficking Strategy concerning minors (prevention, law enforcement, victim assistance). He also elaborated on the development scheme for the therapy of child victims, for which the Swiss-Hungarian Cooperation Programme will provide significant funding.
Pol. colonel Krisztina Balogh, representing the National Bureau of Investigation, outlined the police tasks related to trafficking in human beings for sexual purposes, including the child-related activities of the public order protection and criminal branch of services.
Children placed under general protection measure are examined by the National Child Protection Committee of Experts. Beáta Beregnyei, head of committee presented the typical background of the children, their needs and the process of victimization. This was followed by the closing presentation of Dr. Erzsébet Hatvani, Deputy Director of the Rákospalota Juvenile Reformatory Institution and Central Special Children's Home, who summarized her experiences in the care and support of girls involved in prostitution.