Czech mothers are being sent to prison

In the Czech Republic, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not respected. This was mentioned in the Sunday program Střepiny on TV Nova, where Professor JUDr. Helena Válková, CSc., a member of Parliament and former Minister of Justice, stated that „children are often left at the mercy of OSPOD's assessments… a children's ombudsman is necessary, the Convention on the Rights of the Child must be respected, and it is not important whether the rights of parents are fully realized, but the child's interest must be paramount.“

However, it must be recognized that OSPOD (Czech Social and Legal Protection of Children Authority) is supposed to protect children's rights by law. Instead, it focuses on the misinterpreted concept of equality in the Czech Republic and, recklessly, contributes to the transfer of children from the care of mothers to the care of fathers.

What will happen to OSPOD (Czech Social and Legal Protection of Children Authority) when there is a children's ombudsman who will genuinely protect children?

The tragic impact of custody proceedings on children's mental health in the Czech Republic is even highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO draws attention to the many traumas in the lives of Czech children, often stemming from parental separation, domestic violence, bullying, or social isolation.

In the Czech Republic, the Convention on the Rights of the Child is not respected, and as Professor Válková mentioned on the TV Nova program, the child is not at the center of concern, while OSPOD works to ensure the full realization of „parents' rights.“ From experience, we know that OSPOD often prioritizes the rights of even abusive, violent fathers over the rights of children and their mothers. The petition For the Protection of the Rights and Mental Health of Czech Children contains the following testimony:

„Hello, I completely agree with the petition's content and thank you for creating it. I am joining based on personal experience, as the custody proceedings have been going on for 11 years, and my children have long been harmed by repeated wrong decisions from the court, completely against their best interests, which I have pointed out many times. I am the mother of 4 children (23, 18, 14, 13). I turned to OSPOD in 2013 for help due to long-term domestic violence from their father and his harassment after I left with the children. We not only received no help but the father kept filing complaints, complicating the situation and overwhelming OSPOD and the court (the case file today has over 3000 pages). Over time, the situation increasingly turned against me, and the actions of OSPOD and the court harmed the children the most. The situation escalated a year ago when the children were to be taken away and placed in a Crisis Center (justified by the long-standing dispute between the parents). I hid the children, and was charged, detained, and convicted for obstructing the court decision and endangering the children's upbringing. After 3 months in the Crisis Center, the children were placed in the father's care, the same father from whom I had fled due to domestic violence when the youngest child was one year old. No one considered the domestic violence, nor the fact that the father was on probation for attacking me. OSPOD found his care to be entirely appropriate, even though domestic violence continues, unfortunately, towards the children as well. Calls to the helpline and reports to OSPOD and the police were entirely minimized. The children repeatedly say they want to be in my care, but OSPOD convinces them that this is not possible and that they must accept being with their father. I see the children once every two weeks on weekends. We are experiencing long-term systemic violence, where the father's actions are supported by institutions… I am looking for a way to help my own children and many others in similar situations. I would like to contact you. I am ready to make our case public. Thank you for your work, I believe that something fundamental can change. I wish you all the best.“ – Klára Martilíková

This story is typical in the Czech Republic today. Similar cases happen to many mothers. OSPODs, in collaboration with fathers, practically manufacture false accusations with the aim of placing children in the care of the father (see comments from victims in the petition For the Protection of the Rights and Mental Health of Czech Children), presenting these accusations to the court and third parties, often manipulatively even before a ruling. For instance, a mother who has suffered domestic violence (either directed at her or the children, or in front of them) is falsely accused of abusing the children, manipulating them, or spreading defamatory information about the father, being labeled as unstable, hysterical, and dragging the children into the conflict. Decisions are made against the children's best interests (it is not in the child's best interest to be placed with an abusive father, as this would endanger the child’s upbringing), the opinion of minors is ignored, and the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child are disregarded. The mother is degraded, dishonored, falsely accused, humiliated by a state body, and often by women working at OSPOD. The violence against her is minimized by the police. Children, in turn, are placed in a Crisis Center (often the documentation manipulatively states that they are placed in institutional care due to the parents' conflict – but the essence of these placements is the same: changing the children's views so that they want to live with the father, leave the home with the mother, where they are used to being, or at least agree to shared custody). This mother refused to submit to the nonsensical decisions and pressure from OSPOD and the court, which were not in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, fled, hid with the children, and upon returning was charged and imprisoned. She describes systemic abuse.

To the average reader, this might be shocking, but such situations are very common for women and mothers in the Czech Republic today. Mothers who have given birth to their children and have a natural, strong, and beneficial maternal bond with their children are criminalized, slandered by OSPOD in collaboration with the fathers before the courts. Motherhood is degraded, its significance nullified, and women are treated as thoughtless, unstable, manipulative vessels. In a similar vein, 2300 petition signatories express the same sentiments. Mothers are deceitfully and unjustly prohibited from seeing their children, with justifications such as the child being sad because they are not with their mother, blaming the mother for this, and thus imposing a visitation ban. The child’s natural need to be with their mother is blamed on the mother. Separation causes trauma to both the child and the mother – completely unnecessary trauma. Mothers try to „save“ their children, violate orders, and end up in prison or with conditional sentences.

Criminalizing mothers is one of the tools to achieve sole custody for fathers or significantly limit mothers' contact with their children. OSPOD, in collaboration with often abusive fathers, slanders and defames mothers, and considers the information from the father as valid, making it difficult for mothers to defend themselves. It is hard to prove that something that isn't true really isn't true. The child's desire to be with the mother is labeled as manipulation by the mother. OSPODs do not hesitate to unjustifiably separate siblings, and those who cannot defend themselves – the youngest and most vulnerable, who are most likely to be „re-educated“ – end up without their mothers, often overnight. OSPOD manipulates children. These children lose their home, mother, and siblings – completely contrary to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The older ones are manipulated by OSPOD and placed in institutional care (!) to fulfill the father's right to have the child, even though the father is abusive or the child simply does not want to live with him and is better off at home with the mother and often siblings, receiving better care.

In many civilized countries, violence against mothers is considered just as serious as violence against children. Physical punishment is prohibited. What is happening in the Czech Republic is unparalleled in the civilized world. After an article about the criminal complaint against OSPOD Černošice was published, other women in similar situations contacted the author of the text – women who had conditional sentences or even several months of detention because their children wanted to be with them, that they wanted to live with their mothers.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (which states, for example, that the state is responsible for ensuring that children are maximally protected from any violence, that the child's interests and opinions are paramount, and that the interests of any entities, including parents, stand above any other interests) is not respected in the Czech Republic. Mothers who try to correct the situation, to save their children, end up in prison or with conditional sentences. This incredibly monstrous, inhumane situation affects and destroys the lives of children and mothers. Charitable NGOs do not help; they lack the tools to do so. Visiting these organizations is mostly ineffective, and often even counterproductive, as they „dance“ to the tune of OSPOD. Women are eventually accused of spreading defamatory information about violent fathers, and children are taken from them and placed with abusers of various kinds, domestic violence perpetrators. Czech Television highlighted this issue in the Události program on 7 December 2024, pointing out that judges decide based on stereotypes, lack education in this area, and make poor decisions.

Let us fight for our children, their rights and mental well-being, and for a carefree childhood in safety at home. In the Czech Republic, crimes against humanity are taking place in custody proceedings, basic human rights are being violated. Let us unite for change, cooperate, file complaints, criminal reports, speak out, and be heard. Let us draw attention to the mistakes in custody proceedings and the crimes against humanity occurring in the Czech Republic.

In light of the tragic discrimination against children and women in the Czech Republic, I will conclude with a popular greeting:

CALL TO ACTION:If you have been harmed as a child by a custody court decision, the course of proceedings, or OSPOD's approach, speak out! Your experiences are key to changing this dysfunctional system. Share them in the comments to this petition (Have you been harmed as a child by a custody court decision? RESPOND!) and join our efforts for justice for all children in the Czech Republic.

The authors of the Petition for the Protection of the Rights and Mental Health of Czech Children kindly ask for your attention and, if possible, for your opinion by signing this petition, which you can also accompany with a comment about your experience with custody proceedings.

CALL TO ACTION II:We ask those harmed by OSPOD Černošice, who would like to join the criminal complaint against OSPOD Černošice, to contact us at phone number 774848814.

REQUEST FOR SUPPORT:Petition for the Protection of the Rights and Mental Health of Czech Children: Petition for the Protection of the Rights and Mental Health of Czech Children

REQUEST FOR FINANCIAL SUPPORT (for filming a documentary about systemically abused children, publicizing cases): Transparent account: 5512612003/0800

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