In a victory in the fight for justice, Poland’s national government signed into law the first of two bills to amend the Family and Guardianship Code. Unbound Now celebrates this legislative victory and the impact it will have for child survivors of sexual exploitation across the nation.
The Unbound Now Europe team was actively engaged and drafting amendments to and championing the bill, and we are deeply encouraged by the implications of this law in the fight against child sex trafficking.
Poland Director Agata Witkowska
Not only does the law have multiple dynamic implications for child victims of exploitation, but it represents a significant milestone in system-wide reform.
The law creates several key protections for child victims of exploitation:
- Victims and their families will have access to information regarding offenders’ release date. For example, this equips the parents of a 15-year victim to take the precautions necessary to protect their child from any threat from or exposure to a perpetrator after their release, thus protecting the healing process of that victim.
- Judges who adjudicate family and guardianship cases will be required to complete trainings on topics that affect child victims. We anticipate that this will include the impact of trauma on the brain, protections for victims who have to testify in court against a perpetrator, and assessing an perpetrator’s likelihood of re-offending.
- The new “Standards for the Protection of Minors” obliges the various sectors involved with minors, such as education, sports, and religious services, to establish prevention and intervention procedures for protecting minors from harm. For example, an institution cannot employ an individual with a history of sexual offense to work with minors. The Polish government would have authority to penalize that employer for a term of 3 months to 5 years.
- Lastly, in the new law, the nation’s case analysis mechanism requires stronger collaboration among government offices that interface with criminal cases against minor victims. With stronger case analysis, the mechanism aims to reduce the number of dangerous and tragic events involving children.
This is the first of two bills that offer strong protections for children. The first bill passed into law just days after Unbound Now friends and partners around the world gathered to pray on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. We are praising God for this legislative victory and praying for the children whose lives will be positively impacted. We invite you to pray with us for a similarly swift passage of the second bill.