According to figures provided at the parliamentary hearing, 376 child victims of sexual offenses were registered in 2025. Analysis of the cases reveals a painful truth: in most situations, the rapist is not a stranger. In a significant number of episodes, the aggressors were family members – fathers, mothers’ roommates or even grandfathers.
In turn, the People’s Advocate for Children’s Rights Vasile Koroi emphasizes that many cases are not registered.
“Children do not tell anyone about their traumatic experience. According to the research, every seventh girl and every twentieth boy is sexually abused before reaching the age of 18,” said the representative of the institution.
This phenomenon is also confirmed by the Prosecutor General’s Office, which records the particular vulnerability of minors in family environments and in relationships based on trust. Tatiana Gulya, head of the criminal prosecution department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, specified that in 2025, 41 children were victims of sexual violence directly within the family. The most common offenses include rape and sexual acts with persons under 16 years of age.
“Analysis of statistics shows that violence, sexual harassment and other forms of victimization continue to pose serious risks to the safety and development of children in their immediate environment. This demonstrates serious gaps in the current mechanisms for the prevention and protection of children at risk,” prosecutors emphasize.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, in 2025, 363 criminal cases of a sexual nature were initiated, with 376 children as victims (for comparison: in 2024, 386 cases were initiated, with 399 children as victims). The structure of these crimes is as follows: the largest share is accounted for by Article 171 of the Criminal Code (rape) – 155 victims; Article 174 (sexual acts with a person under 16 years of age) – 106 victims; Article 172 (violent acts of a sexual nature) – 74 victims, etc. The largest share is accounted for by Article 171 of the Criminal Code.
In 2025, prosecutors prosecuted a total of 868 cases involving 938 child victims of various crimes. For comparison, in 2024, 969 criminal cases involving 1,058 child victims were prosecuted, showing a decrease of 11.34% in the overall figure.
