Economic position of mother of kids left alone to be looked into

The social welfare services will prepare a report looking into the socioeconomic situation of the 35-year-old mother who was arrested after allegedly leaving her three young children alone, police said on Tuesday.

The report will be included in the file of the case and will be sent to the legal service with recommendations for the suspension of the woman’s prosecution.

“At the time of the arrest, we did not know all the facts. The arrest took place for proper investigation,” police spokesperson Christos Andreou told the Cyprus Mail.

The report is expected to be submitted before the first hearing of the case on December 15.

The woman was arrested after a member of the public found her seven-year-old daughter playing alone in a park in Limassol’s Omonia area on Sunday afternoon. Unable to find her parents, he took the child to the closest police station.

Following investigations, police located the house of the girl where they found her two siblings – a 13-year-old and a 23-month-old – also alone.

“What would have happened if the seven-year-old girl was found by another person who was more dangerous?” Andreou said.

The children were taken to their grandparents.

The incident brought to light a common problem for single mothers who work hours when schools are closed, said head of the one-parent families’ association Argentoula Ioannou.

“We receive many complaints from women who have nowhere to leave their children,” Ioannou said, as private and public nurseries close at 6pm.

According to Ioannou a social worker had in the past told the mother that her children could take care of each other so she could go to work or else she would be registered as voluntarily unemployed.

The issue is a result of the inadequacy of the social policies and the state budget cuts concerning childcare services, said left-wing trade union PEO, calling for the immediate implementation of measures.

Cyprus spends 1.3 per cent of its total social protection budget on families and children in comparison with the 2.5 per cent EU average, PEO said citing a recent European Union report.

There is still a shortage of childcare facilities, the union added, saying that most are expensive and the hours of operation cannot assist all working mothers.

It also highlighted the need for modernisation of the social welfare services.