Last Wednesday, the Justice Minister filed a counterclaim with the Court of Justice of the European Union against the Hungarian Child Protection Act. Judit Varga announced the filing on her Facebook page on Wednesday evening, stressing that Hungary will not be left alone.
“We continue to stand by our conviction and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union that education is a national competence and that parents have the right to decide on the upbringing of their children,” she emphasized. Judit Varga added that “like before, we will go clear on to the end when it comes to protecting our children.”
The cases that have come to light in recent weeks clearly show the need for a child protection law, as well as further measures, the Justice Minister stressed.
Indeed, many cases recently came to light concerning the sexual abuse of minors. Perhaps the most disturbing case was the one involving a 39-year-old pedagogical assistant, who talked about having an affair with a 15-year-old student in a video he posted on his social media page. He stated many times that he did not consider having a relationship with a minor a problem, given that the age of consent in Hungary is currently 14.
Besides the case of the teaching assistant, a former politician from the Greens’ Party LMP, also reportedly turned out to be attracted to minors. He was arrested by police recently for sexual abuse of a person under the age of 14 (according to media information, the minor was a boy).
Because of these events, the government wants to put an emphasis on child protection, and it is possible that the age of consent could be raised.
Moreover, the Child Protection Law, adopted in June 2021, was at the center of talks again. The law has triggered criticism on the European level because it has broadened the scope of action against pedophile offenders, for instance, banning advertising that depicts sexuality for its own sake, or promoting and displaying deviation from the identity of the sex of birth, gender reassignment, and homosexuality, all from being made available to children under the age of eighteen.
Source: Hungary Today
