Tens of thousands of Hungarians marched in Budapest on Saturday, calling for Prime Minister Viktor Orban to resign. The protests come in the wake of multiple child-abuse scandals that have plagued his government, raising serious questions about its commitment to protecting vulnerable children.
This unrest comes after an official investigation of 2021 found disturbing numbers. It proved that more than one in five kids in state-run institutions of care have experienced abuse. This shocking fact ignited a wave of public outcry, especially after news broke of recent allegations of abuse at a Budapest juvenile detention center. Surveillance camera footage showed the facility’s director repeatedly kicking a teen boy in the head. This disturbing incident led to increased scrutiny and calls for accountability.
In a move that intensified public discontent, Katalin Novak, Hungary’s president, resigned after pardoning the deputy director of a state-run children’s school. The deputy director had recently been convicted for his role in the cover up of sexual abuse committed by the school’s director. Citizens were outraged over this removal. They viewed it as an egregious manifestation of government’s failure to prioritize the protection of children and a culture of impunity.
Amid increasing international condemnation, the Orban regime is going on the offensive. They are bravely intervening to protect children by reporting suspected maltreatment. The government crudely proposed to put all child institutions immediately under police control. This important move will do much to restore public trust that it knows how to protect our most vulnerable children. A wary citizenry is still not satisfied and calls for bolder moves grow louder.
Peter Magyar, head of the opposition party TISZA, was the instrumental organizer of the protests in Budapest. The protesters held placards that said, “Save the children!” Protesters were outraged at what they see as the government’s failure to act.
Zsuzsa Szalay, a 73-year-old pensioner who participated in the protests, expressed her frustration:
“We should be outraged at what is being done with the most vulnerable children.”
David Kozak, a 16-year-old protester, echoed similar sentiments and criticized the government’s response to the scandals:
“Normally, a government would be toppled after a case like this.”
Kozak expressed disappointment in the administration’s approach overall, saying that
“For them, the problem is not that the abuses happened, but that they were revealed.”
Viktor Orban has made similar promises to put children first ever since he returned to power in 2010. He called child abuse disgusting, unacceptable and criminal, pledging that it would be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Nevertheless, the series of scandals and the government’s response have led many citizens to question Orban’s commitment to this cause.
