Romanians Still Beating Children, UN Says

More than 12,000 cases of abuse, neglect and child exploitation are officially recorded each year in Romania, but these represent only some of the total number of cases of violence against children, according to a report by the UN's children organisation UNICEF.

Around 5 per cent of Romanian parents beat their children, around 11 per cent slap or pull the children hair, and 13 per cent threaten children with violence, the report says.

More than half of the domestic violence cases against children are registered in rural areas.

Experts say most of the cases of violence reflect the survival of traditional values. "There is a Romanian saying: 'Beating comes from Heaven.' So, most adults involuntarily repeat the model they learned from their parents," Sandie Blanchet, a UNICEF representative for Romania, said.

In a related development, Romania last year approved a law banning corporal punishment and forbidding teachers from kicking students out of class, punishing them by sending them into a corner or telling them to stand up before the entire class.

Many teachers are unhappy, saying schools have already changed their approach to discipline, while the new law does not give teachers protection against aggressive pupils.

Romanian schools were once formidably strict in applying discipline to children. But, discipline in schools has declined, according to some reports.

Data from the last census shows there are around 2.01 million young teens in Romania, representing around 9.4 per cent of the total population.