More than 130 professionals from various fields, including social work, child protection, the justice system, law enforcement and civil society participated in the presentation and consultation event of the Exploratory study on risk factors in juvenile sexual offences and services for minors.

The event was organised in an online format and gave participants the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the methodology, tools and methods of data collection. The international and national consultations presented preliminary results, findings and recommendations aimed at improving policies and practices to assist children who have committed sexual offences through the development of  specialised services and intervention programmes. The purpose of the consultation event is to present and discuss preliminary findings and work towards finalising the study.

In his welcome speech, Marius Ciprian Toth, Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Chisinau, stressed the need to strengthen the system of protection of children against violence and to build the capacities of specialists in the field: "The juvenile justice is a sensitive, but critical issue in the society. Children and young people interacting with the justice system must be treated differently than adults. We have to ensure that the rehabilitation and harnessing of the potential is at the heart of the efforts, by observing the principles and rights enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was also ratified by the Republic of Moldova".

The study was prepared and carried out in the framework of the Council of Europe project on the on Preventing and protecting children from violence including in the digital environment in the Republic of Moldova.