Czech Republic reports record child abuse cases amid wider welfare developments

Czech child protection authorities recorded a twenty-year high of over 10,000 cases of child abuse, neglect, and exploitation over the past year, resulting in 3,616 children being removed from their homes. Experts debate whether the statistical rise stems from growing social insecurity or heightened public awareness, while warning that official figures remain an underestimate due to missing evaluation guidelines and insufficient preventive support services.

Concurrently, the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is finalizing a seven-billion-koruna expansion of preschool facilities funded through the EU National Recovery Plan, drawing criticism over unaddressed quality standards. Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed the "EU KIDS Act", which aims to ban social media access for children under 13 and restrict unmonitored accounts for minors under 15 across member states.

Sources: Deník N, Hospodářské noviny, iROZHLAS, Respect, Seznam Zprávy