“First and foremost, a child must be protected, rescued, and removed from danger if it is threatened by it”: MP Sushko explained when a child must be immediately removed from the family

10 July 20:49

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The desire to keep a child in their biological family at any cost can
lead to irreparable consequences. If there is domestic violence at home,
or the parents suffer from alcohol or drug addiction, the state must first and foremost ensure the child’s safety, rather than focus on placement arrangements or statistics this was discussed in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian" by Pavlo Sushko, a member of parliament and chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission on the Protection of Children’s Rights

According to the MP, there are still cases in Ukraine where children, after
removal are returned to families where the danger to them has not gone away. Such decisions, he added, sometimes end in tragedy.

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As an example, Sushko cited a story from Kharkiv. Law enforcement officers found a woman with a small child in a dumpster. The child was removed and taken to
the hospital, but was later returned to the mother.

“They took the child away, then returned it. And two years later, the child fell out of a window and died,” he recalls.

Sushko also drew attention to the widespread stereotype that children are taken away primarily from low-income families. In reality, he emphasized,
the grounds for such a decision are entirely different circumstances.

“People here often mistakenly believe that children are supposedly removed from poor families. No, they are removed from dysfunctional families where alcoholism, domestic violence, and drug addiction are rampant,” he says.

According to the lawmaker, a child cannot protect itself, so in
situations where there is a real threat to a child’s life or health, the authorities must act without delay.

“An adult can help themselves. A child cannot,” he emphasized.

Sushko stressed that when making such decisions, the decisive criterion must be the child’s safety. If a child’s life or health is — a response is needed immediately, because any delay could lead to tragic consequences,” the deputy concluded.