Tyumen Foster Mother Denies Child Abuse Claims

The story about concerned women accusing a foster mother from Tyumen of cruel treatment of her wards has continued. The very city resident, against whom a complaint was filed this autumn with the regional Investigative Committee due to possible abuse of children, contacted the editorial office. The woman responded to the serious accusations from the complainants. We publish her opinion.

Brief Background

Concerned residents of Tyumen are raising concerns and claim that the family, which takes children under guardianship from shelters, allegedly abuses them. According to the citizens, some children periodically had bruises on their bodies, they were untidy and looked dirty. The women who contacted our editorial office assure that the minors were often hungry and sometimes locked up. After the complaints, the children were taken from the foster family and taken to a social shelter.

Response to Accusations of Child Abuse

This woman and her common-law husband have been raising foster children for 10 years. She says she disagrees with the attacks against her. The city resident became a foster mother after one incident. They took in a minor relative of her husband. While at the center, this family met other children. Then they decided to care for them as well. As a result, the family had five non-biological children and one of their own, also a minor.

Everything changed several months ago. Complaints started being filed against this family by concerned people who believe that the children are being raised in harsh and unsanitary conditions.

«The complainant women are not my neighbors. That«s first. Second, with this child who is complaining about us, including to this outside woman, there were no problems before. He met her on the playground, and then she invited him to her place. Apparently, she turned him against us. This child never ran away before, always came home from school on time, always informed us of his affairs and plans. And as soon as this boy started communicating with this woman, everything changed, and he himself became rude and aggressive. Looking ahead, I»ll say that all our children go to kindergarten and school. We have good references for them. We always fed, cared for, and tried to look after them; what these attacks are — I don«t know», — explains the guardian.

According to her, this foster child changed significantly in his behavior after meeting the Tyumen woman.

«He started being rude, insolent, became aggressive, started running away from home. He was hospitalized due to mental health issues. This acquaintance affected him and us. She complains about our family, and he supports her and slanders us», — she adds.

About Unsanitary Conditions

The woman also talked about the «unsanitary conditions» that are alleged in the regional department of social development.

«There were no unsanitary conditions, so to speak, in our house. At that time, when the children were taken away, we were doing renovations. Things were lying in bags, in boxes. The floor was not washed. A little mess, dust, how is that unsanitary? An ordinary routine situation. As for the many dogs, yes, we breed them, but we clean up and look after the animals. Maybe we asked the children to help with cleaning, but there«s nothing wrong with that», — says the woman.

Where Did the Bruises Come From and What is the «Assault» Protocol

The Tyumen woman does not deny that some children periodically had bruises on their bodies. But, according to her, there are explanations. Allegedly, one boy fell while riding a bicycle. Other children could have quarreled with each other or fought. But, their foster mother notes, two out of the five foster children always fought. And one of them was allegedly the instigator of conflicts. He, the Tyumen woman assures, is the one who met a certain woman on the playground.

Despite the explanations in the investigations, there is an official protocol about «assault». Under what circumstances and where exactly these «assaults» were inflicted on the children — is officially unclear yet. Law enforcement is looking into this.

«Due to all these attacks and accusations, I also file complaints everywhere I can. The police are aware of what«s happening, in particular — our local officer. Still, at the end of summer, the children were taken to a social center, examined, apparently, by specialists there. As a result, the police drew up an «Assault» protocol. And an examination was conducted just during that period. I note that at that time, the children had not lived with me for two weeks; where and how they could have gotten bruises — I don»t know. I personally never hit any of them and don«t hit them. To be honest, I communicate with them and visit them at the social center. They ask to come home. Would children who were beaten ask to return? This is slander regarding abuse of children against me from these women. They have already worn out all my nerves with this. What they are achieving and why they have been complaining about me and my whole family for several months — I can»t fathom», — laments the guardian.

The boys and girls who were removed from the family now complain that fights occur between children in the social center. Additionally, the foster children of the guardian mother say that the shelter staff do not treat them very well.

In Conclusion

Despite the situation with accusations against the foster mother, she still wants to return some children back to the family.

«During meetings, they greet me with joy and ask to come home themselves. The children say that in the social center, they are bullied, fights happen with other children. Of course, I also raise this issue and write appeals to various authorities. I would take three of the five children home. The two who complain about me, I don«t plan to take back, since they are dissatisfied with something… I would return the three and file documents for adoption. I don»t need anything else», — she summarizes.

While accusations fly from both sides, investigators are dealing with the situation and finding out whether there was abuse of children.

More to Read on Similar Topics

In recent months, videos where adults resort to not quite pedagogical methods of upbringing are increasingly appearing on social networks. If you know that someone is abusing or offending children, contact the police. Also, check out our useful material where we told where to call, if children are beaten in the family and what will happen to their parents for it.

Still in the summer, we wrote about how a Tyumen resident attacked children in the village of Vinzili and beat them. The parents of the victims told the editorial office about this. Earlier, we reported on another incident that occurred due to a dispute between children and adults. Teenagers sprayed pepper spray in the face of a 70-year-old man.