Syndrome of indifference

A stranger came up to 10-year-old Tetianka as she was looking at movie poster at a cinema, where she had come with her friend. “Would you like to act in a film?” the stranger asked. “Of course, who wouldn’t?” the girl replied. “Fine, then consider that your dream has come true because I am a director at a film studio. Come with me and you can take a screen test today.”

To make sure that the girl was not afraid to go alone, the man let her friend come too. The girls were brought to an apartment with many bright lights. As the girls later told investigators, they were shown magazines with beautiful naked girls and told that they had to undress to become famous film stars. The stranger gave them chocolates afterwards and threatened that if they told anyone, he would show their photos to their teacher and classmates.

Tetianka and her friend took part in this filming several times. Adult men forced the girls to do such shameful things that they didn’t dare tell their parents. The girls became introverted and began to do badly in school. Nobody knows how things would have turned out if one day policemen wearing helmets had not raided the “film studio.”

Interpol experts estimate that the Ukrainian child pornography market generates 100 million dollars a year. This figure is believed to be understated. According to information provided by Kyiv City Council member Oleksandr Pabat, there are between 35 and 50 underground child pornography studios in Kyiv alone. The profits earned by businessmen operating these kinds of illegal ventures are astronomical, but it is hard for law-enforcement to expose these studios because the criminals are constantly on the move, renting new apartments.

“In Germany, for example, there is no child pornography because if a German sees a child visiting some man, s/he will definitely tell the police. The same thing happens in Holland and many other countries. But our society has become so indifferent that people often walk by even if they see somebody committing a crime,” Pabat explained.

According to the city councilor, he has already managed to help law-enforcement officers expose at least one pornography studio in the capital. But police efforts alone are not enough to fight violence and the sexual abuse of children. Community efforts are needed. Pabat is asking members of the public to report their suspicions if they think that a child pornography studio is operating in their building. The characteristic features of underground film production are powerful lights shining through an apartment’s curtains, large amounts of equipment (tripods and lighting equipment), many children visiting the apartment, and the sound of children crying. If you see this sort of thing happening in a building, call Pabst at (044) 204-36-50 or send him an e-mail to [email protected] . In order to speed up the disclosure of a crime, a report should not be made anonymously.

The Day has learned that the Public Relations Department of Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has registered 68 crimes falling under Article 115 (sexual abuse of persons that have not reached puberty) of Ukraine’s Criminal Code and 282 crimes falling under Article 156 of the Criminal Code (sexual abuse of underage persons). Investigations have proved that this type of crime frequently occurs in families (frequent cases of a stepfather raping his stepdaughter and the mother turning a blind eye because she fears losing her husband). Neighbors often suspect child abuse, but they choose to remain silent. In order to combat this phenomenon, everyone should become aware of the simple truth that children are everyone’s business.