{"id":13289,"date":"2026-08-19T11:29:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T09:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/?p=13289"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:37:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T10:37:46","slug":"ehezes-vezetett-szexualis-bantalmazashoz-egy-gyerekotthonban-itt-vannak-az-orban-kormany-eltitkolt-gyermekvedelmi-jelentesei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.direkt36.hu\/en\/ehezes-vezetett-szexualis-bantalmazashoz-egy-gyerekotthonban-itt-vannak-az-orban-kormany-eltitkolt-gyermekvedelmi-jelentesei\/","title":{"rendered":"Starvation Led to Sexual Abuse at a Children\u2019s Home\u2014Here Are the Orb\u00e1n Government\u2019s Concealed Child Protection Reports"},"content":{"rendered":"

A series of inspections ordered by the government in 2024 has revealed serious shortcomings and appalling conditions in Hungarian children\u2019s homes, according to previously concealed inspection reports obtained by Direkt36 through a lawsuit.<\/p>\n

The reports on the inspections, which were conducted separately in each county, contain several serious findings. They reveal that many children were forced to live in unacceptable conditions\u2014amid mold, in the dark, and surrounded by furniture that posed a risk of injury. In one county, it was revealed that after cases of abuse came to light, the children were left to cope with their trauma on their own; elsewhere, the investigation highlighted the prevalence of sexual abuse among peers.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most shocking case was reported in B\u00e1cs-Kiskun County. According to the inspection\u2019s findings, children at one of the institutions there suffered from hunger because they were not given any food after 6:30 p.m. Because of this, some children were even willing to endure sexual abuse from \u00a0peers in exchange for food.<\/p>\n

Join the Direkt36 supporters\u2019 group and get insight into investigative journalism! Details \u2192<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

We asked officials from the former and current administrations what steps they had taken to resolve the problems identified in the reports. Bence R\u00e9tv\u00e1ri, the former parliamentary state secretary at the Ministry of the Interior who had previously announced the launch of the audits, did not respond to our inquiry.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Family, which now oversees this area, stated that following the 2024 audit, \u201cinternal investigations concerning children\u2019s homes were conducted at the Ministry of the Interior in 2025 and 2026 as well, and we received and reviewed those reports following the handover between the two ministries.\u201d The ministry added that on August 31, it will publish the report \u201cconcluding the first part of the Child Protection Diagnosis we conducted,\u201d which will also include \u201crelevant data from the most recent interim child protection report.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe child protection system is suffering because by 2026, specialized care has become completely overwhelmed. New capacity must be created, and the problem of crisis care must be resolved,\u201d the SZCSM stated, adding that \u201cwe have drafted a proposal addressing these urgent tasks, which is currently undergoing inter-ministerial consultation.\u201d<\/p>\n

They withheld the results of the inspections<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The reports we obtained were prepared because, shortly after the pardon scandal broke, on February 29, 2024, P\u00e9ter Csizi, the Deputy State Secretary for Social Affairs at the Ministry of the Interior, instructed all government agencies to conduct unscheduled inspections of children\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n

The government announced the inspections with great publicity. Bence R\u00e9tv\u00e1ri announced on March 12, 2024, that unscheduled official inspections would take place in March and April at all children\u2019s homes, focusing on the internal investigation of cases of abuse. R\u00e9tv\u00e1ri stated at the time that the inspections would cover a total of 530 residential children\u2019s institutions. A press release regarding this was also published on the government\u2019s site called korm\u00e1ny.hu, and news of the inspections spread throughout the media.<\/p>\n

However, the government has not disclosed what results these audits yielded. Only one County\u2019s administration \u2014the N\u00f3gr\u00e1d County Office\u2014published its audit report on its website. Direkt36 therefore submitted a freedom of information request to the Ministry of the Interior on September 2, 2025, asking for the audit reports to be released.<\/p>\n

Instead, however, the ministry sent only brief summaries, which a court later determined were trite, largely identical across government offices, and contained only generalities. With the assistance of the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ), Direkt36 filed a lawsuit to obtain the actual reports.<\/p>\n

On December 16, 2025, the Budapest-Capital Regional Court ruled in favor of Direkt36 in its first-instance judgment. The court concluded that the reports requested clearly constituted information of public interest. On April 30, 2026, we won the case definitively on appeal at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court of Appeals. We still had to wait months for the reports; they were finally sent on July 31, after the change in government, by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Family, the legal successor to the Ministry of the Interior.<\/p>\n

Although the original announcement stated that the audits focused on the internal investigation of cases of abuse, reports indicate that few problems were ultimately found in this area.\u00a0 Szabolcs-Szatm\u00e1r-Bereg County is an exception; there, in the case of a church-run institution, \u201cit was determined from the available documents that the child abuse case was not investigated properly, in accordance with regulations.\u201d The report does not specify what kind of case this was.<\/p>\n

However, the same county\u2019s administration \u00a0drew attention to a serious problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cA notable shortcoming that can be said to be widespread among state owned institutions is that, in almost every case, psychological support for the affected children was lacking, given that there has been a long-standing shortage of professional psychologists,\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2014 stated the report from Szabolcs-Szatm\u00e1r-Bereg County. It is not just psychologists who are in short supply: a long-standing and well-known problem in Hungary\u2019s child protection system is high staff turnover and a shortage of professionals; there are also few caregivers. This is also reflected in the reports.<\/p>\n

After half past six in the evening, there wasn’t even any bread<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A recurring theme in the reports is peer abuse. (Direkt36 published a comprehensive article on this phenomenon<\/a> in February.) A document from Vas County noted that the youngest perpetrator was only 9 years old. The same report found that the number of sexual assaults among children showed an upward trend compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n

\u201cChildren\u2019s homes must address this problem; it is important to strengthen the children\u2019s gender identity and for staff at children\u2019s homes to actively participate in helping them learn about sexuality,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n

The reports do not always name the specific children\u2019s homes. Thus, it is also unclear which home in B\u00e1cs-Kiskun County was the one where starvation led to sexual abuse.<\/p>\n

However, the report does contain several details about the events. According to the document, the children at the special children\u2019s home did not receive enough food.In the evenings, they simply had nothing to eat. \u201cDinner in the central kitchen ends at 6:30 p.m., and after that, no food (bread, butter, jam, etc.) is available to the children,\u201d the report states, noting that these children participate in sports and therefore should be eating more. It states:<\/p>\n

\u201cDue to their special care needs, the children in the institution face multiple challenges; their upbringing and character development are partially supplemented by sports activities, which naturally place physical demands on their bodies, and thus their nutritional needs are also greater.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There have been several instances of sexual abuse among children at this institution, and some of these were directly linked to starvation. The report cites a police investigation that \u201cfound that the abused children submitted to their abusers in exchange for food.\u201d<\/p>\n

We sent questions regarding the details of the investigation to the B\u00e1cs-Kiskun County Police Department but had not received a response by the time this article was published.<\/p>\n

Mold, dirt, and darkness<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The length and level of detail in the reports we received vary. In several cases, the more thorough and extensive reports highlighted serious deficiencies in the physical condition of the homes.<\/p>\n

In B\u00e1cs-Kiskun County, for example, the following was noted about one home: \u201cThe wardrobes and beds provided for the children in the living quarters are outdated, of substandard quality, and, given their condition, pose a risk of accidents. The seating sets and armchairs used in the common areas, are tattered and dirty, the hard floor coverings are cracked and pose a safety hazard. The soft floor coverings in the rooms are damaged, have gaps, and pose a safety hazard.\u201d<\/p>\n

During an inspection at one of the homes in Budapest, inspectors found large quantities of computer monitors, donated computers, kitchen furniture, and large appliances stored in a warehouse and not in use. When asked about the reason for this, it turned out that \u201cin certain cases, the electrical system would not be able to handle the increased load, so they do not even attempt to put them into use.\u201d On the first floor of a large building at another children\u2019s home, only two of twenty light fixtures were lit; eighteen sockets had no bulbs.<\/p>\n

The report from the Budapest Government Office also includes the following excerpt: \u201cThe faucets, tiles, and shower trays (built-in) are nearly 50 years old; they are impossible to clean and cannot be kept clean despite the greatest efforts. Limescale has not been removed and has become encrusted.\u201d They add:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn most places, there is no cleaning staff; the children clean on their own according to a schedule.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The inspection also revealed deplorable conditions in residential homes in Vas County. \u201cThe children cannot use the upstairs bathrooms in any of the apartments because the ceiling leaks when they shower. As a result, 12 children share one bathroom, which has a bathtub; the walls are heavily moldy from the excessive moisture, and the plaster is crumbling,\u201d\u00a0 \u2014states the Vas County report, which also notes that, although these problems have been known for some time, the condition of the four group homes in question \u201chas continued to deteriorate since the previous inspection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Update: After our article was published, we received the previously missing reports from Pest and Tolna counties from the ministry. Both reports document problems already known from other sources. The Tolna County report also mentions staff shortages and poor physical conditions, such as worn-out mattresses. However, the report also found shortcomings in the handling of child abuse cases. \u201cProfessionals are not maintaining documentation properly. Child abuse reports are filled out inaccurately, and procedures are not followed according to protocol,\u201d the report states. The government office in Tolna County ordered a follow-up inspection of all children\u2019s homes there, which concluded that \u201cwhile they were able to address deficiencies in material resources and maintenance work, they are still unable to ensure adequate staffing levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report from Pest County also criticizes the physical and staffing conditions. For example, it notes that at the time of the inspections, the rate of unfilled positions at children\u2019s homes in Pest County was 16.4 percent. As was the case in Szabolcs-Szatm\u00e1r-Bereg County, two facilities here also failed to provide psychological support to abused children. The report states bluntly: \u201cDespite the efforts of dedicated staff and managers working in the field, the \u2018critical condition\u2019 of the children\u2019s home buildings, the failure to adequately ensure the mandatory professional staffing levels, and the severe shortage of care facilities\u201d constitute \u201cserious risk factors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo: Poster from the campaign leading up to the April 3, 2022, parliamentary election and child protection referendum \u2013 Photo: Lujza Hevesi-Szab\u00f3 \/ Telex<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The previous Hungarian government launched inspections at children\u2019s homes after it came to light that then President Katalin Nov\u00e1k had pardoned the accomplice of a convicted pedophile (both men had worked at such an institution). The reports, however, remained confidential. Direkt36 has now obtained the documents, which detail serious shortcomings and appalling conditions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":13292,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-telex.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,420],"tags":[872,873,478],"ppma_author":[780],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t