Instituto de Estudios Políticos y Derecho Público "Dr. Humberto J. La Roche"
de la Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas de la Universidad del Zulia
Maracaibo, Venezuela
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ISSN 0798- 1406 ~ De pó si to le gal pp 198502ZU132
Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas
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de Es tu dios Po lí ti cos y De re cho Pú bli co “Dr. Hum ber to J. La Ro che” (IEPDP) de la Fa-
cul tad de Cien cias Ju rí di cas y Po lí ti cas de la Uni ver si dad del Zu lia.
En tre sus ob je ti vos fi gu ran: con tri buir con el pro gre so cien tí fi co de las Cien cias
Hu ma nas y So cia les, a tra vés de la di vul ga ción de los re sul ta dos lo gra dos por sus in ves-
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Cues tio nes Po lí ti cas apa re ce dos ve ces al año y pu bli ca tra ba jos ori gi na les con
avan ces o re sul ta dos de in ves ti ga ción en las áreas de Cien cia Po lí ti ca y De re cho Pú bli-
co, los cua les son so me ti dos a la con si de ra ción de ár bi tros ca li fi ca dos.
ESTA PU BLI CA CIÓN APA RE CE RE SE ÑA DA, EN TRE OTROS ÍN DI CES, EN
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Vol. 39, Nº 68 (Enero - Junio) 2021, 666-681
IEPDP-Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Políticas - LUZ
Recibido el 14/11/2020 Aceptado el 28/02/2021
Investigation of sexual crimes against children
DOI: https://doi.org/10.46398/cuestpol.3968.42
Yuliia Chornous *
Hanna Nikitina-Dudikova **
Olena Lepei ***
Anastasiia Antoniuk ****
Mariia Fridman-Kozachenko *****
Abstract
Through a documentary methodology close to legal
hermeneutics, the article reveals the main problematic aspects of
the detection, investigation, and combat of crimes against sexual
freedom and the inviolability of children, as well as highlights
the main positions of the European Court of Rights in this
regard. Ukraine is currently actively discussing the prospect of a
comprehensive and stable juvenile justice system, so protecting the
rights of the child from the usurpation of sexual freedom and inviolability is
an important part of ensuring its functioning. The work aims to establish the
characteristics of detection, investigation, and prevention of crimes against
the freedom and sexual inviolability of the child and, suggest ways to solve
the main problems. The result of this work is to identify specic features
of the detection, investigation, and combat of crimes against the freedom
and sexual inviolability of the child, while determining the importance
of investigative and preventive actions considering the psychological
characteristics of children, proposing ways to improve the existing system
of protection of sexual crimes. It is concluded that the prevention of these
crimes requires multidimensional legal and political action.
* Doctor of Legal Sciences, Professor, Professor of Department of Criminalistics and Forensic Medicine,
National Academy of Internal Affairs. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9710-4858. Email:
chornous@ukr.net
** PhD in Law, Associate Professor of Department of Criminalistics and Forensic Medicine, National
Academy of Internal Affairs. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8865-0061. Email:
annanikitinadudikova@gmail.com
*** PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Professor at the Department of Criminal Procedure, National Academy
of Internal Affairs. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0348-3170. Email: Elena031077@gmail.
com
**** Ph. D. in Law, Associate Professor of the Department of Criminal Procedure and Criminology,
University of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine. ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8916-3575.
Email: anastasiaana0502@gmail.com
***** Ph. D. in Law, Associate Professor of the Department of criminal procedure and criminology,
University of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine. ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1154-8170.
Email: mariiafridman@gmail.com
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Vol. 39 Nº 68 (Enero - Junio 2021): 666-681
Keywords: juvenile justice; offences against the sexual freedom and
inviolability of the child; research actions; preventive
measures; justice in Ukraine.
Investigación de delitos sexuales contra niños
Resumen
Mediante una metodología documental próxima a la hermenéutica
jurídica, el artículo revela los principales aspectos problemáticos de la
detección, investigación y combate de los delitos contra la libertad sexual
y la inviolabilidad de la niñez, así como resalta las principales posiciones
de la Corte Europea de Derechos al respecto. En la actualidad, Ucrania
está debatiendo activamente la perspectiva de un sistema de justicia juvenil
amplio y estable, por lo que proteger los derechos del niño de la usurpación
de la libertad e inviolabilidad sexuales es una parte importante para
garantizar su funcionamiento. El trabajo tiene como objetivo establecer las
características de detección, investigación y prevención de los delitos contra
la libertad e inviolabilidad sexual del niño y, sugerir formas de resolver los
principales problemas. El resultado de este trabajo es lograr identicar
rasgos especícos de la detección, investigación y combate de los delitos
contra la libertad e inviolabilidad sexual del niño, determinando al mismo
tiempo la importancia de las acciones investigativas y preventivas teniendo
en cuenta las características psicológicas de los niños, proponiendo formas
de mejorar el sistema existente de protección de delitos sexuales. Se concluye
que la prevención de estos delitos requiere de una acción multidimensional
jurídica y política.
Palabras clave: justicia de menores; delitos contra la libertad sexual
e inviolabilidad del niño; acciones de investigación;
medidas preventivas; justicia en Ucrania.
Introduction
The state, which positions itself as legal, democratic, and social, must
direct the vectors of policy development to ensure decent living conditions
for people and citizens regardless of their age. However, given that the
child, due to the extent of his legal personality, in particular, legal capacity,
cannot adequately protect his rights and freedoms without the assistance
of legal representatives, the state should be focused on creating an effective
mechanism for protection of rights and interests of the child.
668
Yuliia Chornous, Hanna Nikitina-Dudikova, Olena Lepei, Anastasiia Antoniuk y Mariia
Fridman-Kozachenko
Investigation of sexual crimes against children
Noting in Article 3 of the Constitution of Ukraine (Law 27-IX /1996)
that a person, his life and health, honor and dignity, inviolability, and
security are recognized in Ukraine as the highest social value, the state
has committed itself to all available legal means and ways to protect the
person, including the child. The Basic Law provides for the state protection
of children, the equality of children in their rights, regardless of origin, or
whether they are born in or out of wedlock, and states that any violence
against and exploitation of a child is prosecuted. Part 1 of Article 10 of the
Law of Ukraine “On Child Protection” (Law 2402-III/2001) states that
every child is guaranteed the right to liberty, the security of person, and
protection of dignity.
The topic of protection of children’s rights is also widespread in
the international community. Thus, a special place in the regulation of
children’s rights is occupied by the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of
the Child and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights
and Fundamental Freedoms (United Nations, 1950) (the Convention), the
Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual
Exploitation and Sexual the rights of the child concerning child trafcking,
child prostitution, and child pornography.
Thus, Article 19 (1) of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
(United Nations, 1989) provides that States Parties shall take all appropriate
legislative, administrative, social, and educational measures to protect the
child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect
or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual
abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person
who has the care of the child.
Article 3 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
(United Nations, 2000) provides that each State Party shall ensure that,
at least, the offer, transfer, or receipt by any means of sexual exploitation
children; offering, receiving, transferring or providing a child for the
purposes of child prostitution as dened in Article 2; the production,
distribution, import, export, supply, sale or storage for the above purposes
of child pornography as dened in Article 2 are fully covered by criminal law,
whether committed at the national or transnational level or individually or
in an organized manner.
This indicates a high level of interest of the international community in
establishing the most accurate regulation of violations in the eld of sexual
exploitation of children in order to prevent them.
Include in a paragraph the objective of the article and the importance of
the research.
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1. Methodology of the study
Various methods of scientic cognition were used to write the article.
Thus, the dialectical method revealed the general properties, connections,
and patterns that arise in the detection, investigation, and prevention of
crimes against sexual freedom and inviolability of the child.
Further, the formal-legal method helped to clarify the essence and
content of legal norms, their functions, features of the concepts they dene,
and the processes they regulate, within the research topic.
The analysis and synthesis made it possible to provide a general
description and characterization of the features of detection, investigation,
and prevention of crimes against sexual freedom and inviolability of the
child, to identify and compare basic positions on the legal regulation of
relations related to violations of children’s rights. The synthesis also served
as a basis for combining original ideas, principles, developments for their
further effective use in legal relations arising from the crimes of a sexual
nature against children.
Moreover, the hermeneutic method allowed, based on acquaintance with
texts of normative and doctrinal sources, to investigate the maintenance
of separate legal norms and theoretical provisions in the context of actual
questions of protection of the rights of the child to inviolability and sexual
freedom. Thanks to the comparative-legal method, it has become possible
to compare the main legal positions of the ECtHR, considering the specics
of each case.
Generalization, as a method, made it possible to identify the main
problems and vectors of development in ensuring the protection of
children’s rights within the formation of juvenile justice. The logical-legal
method was used to formulate proposals for the further development of
juvenile justice, taking into account the counteraction and investigation of
crimes against sexual freedom and inviolability of children.
All research methods were interconnected and complementary.
2. Analysis of recent research
Some works by domestic and foreign scientists are devoted to the
protection of the child’s rights arising from the commission of crimes
against sexual freedom and inviolability. Thus, Dudorov (2018) paid much
attention to the general characteristics of crimes against sexual freedom
and inviolability of the person, and the coverage of the main features of
each specic crime within the relevant category.
670
Yuliia Chornous, Hanna Nikitina-Dudikova, Olena Lepei, Anastasiia Antoniuk y Mariia
Fridman-Kozachenko
Investigation of sexual crimes against children
Dzhuzha (2009) focused on the prevention of sexual crimes, primarily
by law enforcement. The researcher noted that preventive measures should
be taken with potential offenders, children, as well as their parents / legal
representative.
A joint study by Denisovskyi and Fedchak (2018) was aimed at identifying
the main shortcomings of the existing system of preventive measures to
commit sexual crimes against children and suggest ways to overcome them,
in particular, through appropriate methodological and nancial support.
At the same time, Ortynskyi et al. (2018) studied the general aspects of
crime investigation in Ukraine.
At the same time, the reasons for the high level of latency of crimes against
sexual freedom and inviolability of the child, the application of the practice
of an international judicial institution, the peculiarities of investigative
actions in the examination of these crimes, and the establishment of a
system of bodies and measures to prevent child sexual abuse character.
3. Results and discussion
Global trends in the development of criminal law on liability for
sexual crimes are both its consistent liberalization (manifested in the
decriminalization of adultery, seduction, voluntary homosexuality) and the
elimination of gender inequality, and strengthening criminal protection of
children from various forms of sexual violence and sexual exploitation.
It should be noted that the sexual freedom and/or sexual integrity of
a person are subject to many crimes under current criminal law. Some of
them concern exclusively the commission of appropriate actions concerning
a minor, others do not have a specially identied victim.
Thus, sexual freedom and inviolability are generic objects of the
following crimes:
• rape (Article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter – the
Criminal Code (Law 2147а-VIII/ 2001).
• sexual violence (Article 153 of the Criminal Code).
• coercion to have sexual intercourse (Article 154 of the Criminal
Code).
• sexual intercourse with a person who has not reached the age of
sixteen (Article 155 of the Criminal Code), and;
• depravity of minors (Article 156 of the Criminal Code).
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Besides, violations of sexual freedom and inviolability are also
accompanied by such crimes as an encroachment on morality (Articles
301–303 of the Criminal Code), coercion to engage in prostitution (Part 1
of Article 303 of the Criminal Code), trafcking in human beings (Article
149 of the Criminal Code), committed for sexual exploitation, etc.
Dudorov (2018) notes that sexual freedom should be understood as the
right of a person to independently choose a partner for sexual intercourse,
a form of such intercourse, and not to allow any coercion in this area. An
adult (in the context of the Criminal Code, is a person who has reached the
age of 16, not a person who has reached a certain age for marriage) and a
mentally healthy person determines with whom and in what way he will
satisfy his sexual needs.
If sexual freedom is associated with a person’s ability to control himself
or herself in the area of sexual intercourse, then sexual integrity means a
legally protected condition that prohibits sexual intercourse with a person
who for certain reasons (for example, under the age or mental illness) is
not a carrier of sexual freedom. Sexual integrity, being an absolute concept,
means that certain interests of an inviolable person cannot, under any
circumstances, be violated by another subject, and sexual acts committed
against him/her are recognized as criminally punishable.
Thus, sexual freedom and sexual integrity of a person are concepts-
antipodes that are independent in nature and do not intersect.
There are signicant problems in Ukraine with the detection of such
crimes, resulting in the classication of crimes against sexual freedom and
inviolability as latent. According to the author, a signicant percentage
of latency of sexual crimes is due to several reasons. The rst, and
unconditional, reason should be considered the lack of the child’s necessary
capacity to protect their violated rights. Thus, a child can turn to one of the
legal representatives who are obliged to represent the interests of the child,
in which adults often do not accept the child’s stories and consider them
ctional, and therefore do not take the necessary measures, including not
resorting to appropriate state-authorized bodies.
There are likely cases of adults committing crimes against children due
to Soviet and, in some cases, post-Soviet upbringing, when reporting sexual
violence, especially in the family, was inconvenient and embarrassing
because it increased public condemnation.
The psychological and psycho-emotional development of a child who
suffers from sexually motivated crimes also plays an important role in
detecting sexual crimes where the victims are children. Thus, depending on
age, development, and upbringing, the child may not understand the nature
of the actions committed against him/her and therefore may consider the
situation of sexual violence to be normal.
672
Yuliia Chornous, Hanna Nikitina-Dudikova, Olena Lepei, Anastasiia Antoniuk y Mariia
Fridman-Kozachenko
Investigation of sexual crimes against children
It should be agreed with Shapovalov (2017) that the pre-trial investigation
begins from the moment of registration of information about the fact of
the committed crime in the Unied register of pre-trial investigations.
However, the grounds for initiating criminal proceedings may be both the
victim’s appeal and the materials of the operational units. Until the start
of the pre-trial investigation, law enforcement ofcers are taking several
measures to identify the facts of criminal activity.
Thus, the key point in detecting crimes against sexual freedom and
the inviolability of the child is the close cooperation of law enforcement
agencies with teachers of educational institutions, guardianship authorities
and other bodies called upon to monitor the rights of the child.
A negative consequence of the development of modern society has been
the rethinking of many things, including the modication of consciousness
regarding the perception of the child as such. The rapid pace of adulthood,
which is currently observed in modern society, according to the author,
leads to an increase in the number of offenses against sexual freedom and
inviolability of children.
Investigations of crimes against sexual freedom and the inviolability of
the child are also characterized by certain features. It should be noted that
such crimes have a negative impact on the psychological state of the child,
and therefore it is necessary to carry out appropriate investigative actions,
taking into account the circumstances of the situation.
Thus, an important place among the priority investigative actions is
occupied by the interrogation of the injured child.
In accordance with part 1, 2 of Article 226 of the Criminal Procedure
Code of Ukraine (Law 4651-VI/2012 of April 13), the interrogation of a
minor or a minor is conducted in the presence of a legal representative,
teacher, or psychologist, and if necessary – a doctor. The interrogation of
a minor may not continue without a break for more than one hour, and in
general for more than two hours a day.
Given the specicity of the crimes committed against the child, the
interrogation should take the form of a conversation with the child, a survey.
In this case, if there is a possibility of a crime against the child by one of the
legal representatives, their presence should be excluded. The need to talk
to the child is explained by the fact that mainly the child’s statements and
behavior are the main means of determining whether sexual violence has
occurred.
Human (2016) emphasizes that to create a trusting atmosphere of a
child’s conversation with a law enforcement ofcer, such a conversation
should take place in a place that the child considers “safe.” It is important
that in some Belarusian cities there are already children’s bar associations,
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and in the Baltic States there are special ofces where children victims of
violence in comfortable psychological conditions have the opportunity to
tell in detail, to show with toys what happened to them. A video of such a
consultation will be broadcast later during the court hearing.
According to the author, it is also possible to change the person who
will conduct the interrogation, as the creation of favorable conditions for
establishing the circumstances of the case depends on personal relationships
and friendly children to the interrogator.
It is also important to remember that the child’s interrogation should
be as concise and meaningful as possible. The fact is that with each
subsequent story of the child about violence against him increases the risk
of confusing testimony and distortion of facts, which devalues the quality of
interrogation as an investigative action. Conducting timely and high-quality
interrogation will help minimize the number of interviews with the child in
the future, record the child’s testimony within the statutory period, protect
the child’s psyche from re-emotional experience of the crime and provide
an opportunity to begin rehabilitation with the child as soon as possible.
It is also important to conduct a medical examination of the child. Views
on the appropriateness of medical examination have changed signicantly
in recent years. Experts had many reservations about the appropriateness
of medical examinations of children who have been sexually abused because
of their ability to harm the child and because the likelihood of favorable
medical conclusions was generally remote.
However, the author is convinced that a medical examination is necessary,
because in its absence to claim a full and comprehensive investigation
of the crime, the collection of all possible evidence is not possible, which
contradicts the requirements and objectives of criminal proceedings.
Parents or other legal representatives who are constantly with the child
should also be interviewed to gather additional information about the
alleged crime, to nd out their role in prompting the child to make or deny
the charges, to determine whether one of them is involved in the crime, and
so on. Besides, a conversation with legal representatives will help to learn
about the normal behavior of the child, which when applied to violence
changes, because it has clear signs of psychological abuse.
It is not uncommon for a child to know the person who committed the
crime. In this case, it is important to immediately detain and interrogate
the potential offender.
Also, in the investigation of crimes against sexual freedom and the
inviolability of the child, a mandatory risk assessment should be carried out.
If professionals determine that a child is at risk of future sexual, physical, or
emotional abuse, then a plan must be developed to protect him/her.
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Yuliia Chornous, Hanna Nikitina-Dudikova, Olena Lepei, Anastasiia Antoniuk y Mariia
Fridman-Kozachenko
Investigation of sexual crimes against children
It is not an exception to use investigative actions in the investigation of
the above-mentioned crimes, such as presenting a person for identication,
presenting things for identication, investigative experiment, but due to
the special psychological subtext, they should be carried out carefully and
in exceptional cases.
At the same time, the ineffective pre-trial investigation and trial of cases
of sexual offenses against children become grounds for the European Court
of Human Rights to recognize violations of the provisions of the Convention
by States. Cases, related to the need to protect children from sexual violence,
have generally had a major impact on the development of ECtHR practice,
which covered both the scope of Article 8 of the Convention and the concept
of positive obligations of the state in connection with the signing of this
international treaty.
Thus, in X. and Y. v. The Netherlands (26 March, 1985), the ECtHR gave
a detailed description of the scope of Article 8 of the Convention, according
to which the concept of “private life” refers to a person’s physical and moral
integrity, in particular his or her sexual life.
Also, this case should be considered indicative, as it can be considered as
one of the driving forces for the revision of the national laws of the signatory
states to the Convention. Thus, X. and Y. v. The Netherlands concerned
sexual abuse of a mentally handicapped 16-year-old girl, and the complaint
lodged by her father was upheld by the police but was subsequently rejected
by the court because the relevant article of national law could be applied
only if directly to the victim. The ECtHR acknowledged that the protection
provided by Dutch law was insufcient in the case of such an unlawful act
to which Y. was subjected, and after analyzing the criminal law in force
at the time, the ECtHR stated that the State did not provide adequate –
practical and effective – protection and found a violation of Article 8 of the
Convention.
The ECtHR recognizes sexual crimes committed against children
as serious acts that threaten the basic values and aspects of private life.
Moreover, even in cases where there has been no actual physical violence,
the ECtHR dares to establish that the domestic law of a State party to the
Convention complies with the provisions of the Convention itself.
An example of such a nding is the judgment in Soderman v. Sweden (12
November, 2013), which was taken following an application by the applicant
alleging a breach by the State of its positive obligations in connection with
the signing of the Convention. The applicant insisted that the State party
had failed to provide her with adequate protection against the violation of
her inviolability as a result of her stepfather’s attempt to lm the applicant
naked at the age of 14. The ECtHR agreed with the respondent State’s
position that the stepfather’s actions did not involve physical violence or
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corruption, but that the applicant’s inviolability had nevertheless been
violated. The aggravating circumstances of the ECtHR acknowledged that
the offense had been committed against a minor by a close person at her
home, that is, in a place where the applicant should have felt safe.
The case-law of the European Court of Human Rights has played an
important role as a catalyst for crimes against sexual freedom and the
integrity of the child that has taken place in educational institutions. In
this context, the case of O’Keeffe v. Ireland (28 January, 2014), in which
the ECtHR concluded on a complaint of sexual violence suffered by the
applicant during her studies at a state-funded school but administered by
the Catholic Church, is illustrative. In resolving the case, the ECtHR found
that the State had violated the provisions of the Convention because, in the
ECtHR’s view, the respondent State should have been aware of the potential
risks of sexual violence in schools and ensured effective monitoring of
teachers’ behavior towards children.
In some cases, complaints to the ECtHR relate to an imperfect criminal
investigation mechanism. Thus, in the decision in the case M.C. and Others
v. Bulgaria (4 March, 2003), the ECtHR found the defendant in breach
because the law, case law, and investigation were imperfect.
Unfortunately, the ECtHR did not stay away from the attention of
Ukraine, which was the defendant in the case M.S. v. Ukraine (11 october,
2017). Although the case concerned the determination of the child’s place
of residence, it touched on issues of violation of sexual freedom and
inviolability. The ECtHR acknowledged the pre-trial investigation into the
sexual abuse of the applicant’s child, who had suffered from the pressure
and behavior of the mother’s roommate. In its judgment, in this case,
the ECtHR noted numerous violations of Ukraine’s obligations under the
Convention due to the ineffectiveness of the pre-trial investigation:
- it was not thorough, as evidenced by numerous referrals for further
investigation following the reversal of the closure decisions.
- late, as certain investigative actions, in particular a forensic
psychiatric examination, which led experts to conclude that the girl
could have given true testimony (acknowledging that she did not
understand the signicance of what was happening due to her age),
were carried out approximately 2 years later, after the event and for
such delays, there were no excuses, and;
- the length of the proceedings was excessive.
Analyzing the practice of the ECtHR, we can conclude that the state is
not an exception when the state is condemned for gaps in the legislation
that do not allow children to fully feel the protection of their rights.
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Yuliia Chornous, Hanna Nikitina-Dudikova, Olena Lepei, Anastasiia Antoniuk y Mariia
Fridman-Kozachenko
Investigation of sexual crimes against children
According to the author, the protection of children’s rights to their
sexual freedom and inviolability includes the implementation of preventive
measures aimed at stopping the commission of an offense.
Article 34 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (United
Nations, 1989) states that States parties have an obligation to protect the
child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. To this end,
States Parties shall take at the national, bilateral, and multilateral levels all
necessary measures to prevent:
a) inducing or forcing a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity.
b) the use of children for exploitation in prostitution or other unlawful
sexual practices, and;
c) the use of children for the purpose of exploitation in pornography
and pornographic materials.
In view of the above, as well as given the main objectives of the policy in
the eld of protection of children’s rights, preventive measures to prevent
violations of sexual freedom and inviolability of the child should be aimed
at exposing:
- the abduction of children, even by parents and parents; sexual
exploitation of children.
- organizations involved in child trafcking.
- Internet networks and enterprises engaged in the production, trade,
distribution and/or sale of child pornography.
- child sex tourism (international sexual travel for children);
production of child pornography, including coercion/enticement of
a minor.
- trafcking in child pornography.
- distribution of child pornography.
- possession of child pornography, etc.
It is also important to establish and ensure an organized and clear
mechanism for responding to reports of a crime concerning sexual freedom
and inviolability of the child, and well-established tactics and sets of
investigative actions that will lead to an effective and rapid investigation of
these crimes.
Denisovskyi and Fedchak (2018), conducting research, found that
scientists and practitioners indicate that the results of operational
prevention of crimes against morality are unsatisfactory. This is, primarily,
due to the lack of interest of law enforcement ofcers in such work, as the
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prevention of criminal intent and the use of preventive measures is difcult
to conrm, especially in terms of reporting.
Another negative factor is the lack of an effective mechanism for
interaction and coordination of measures taken by law enforcement
agencies among themselves and with international law enforcement
agencies, international and non-governmental organizations. An equally
signicant problem in this context is the lack of material and technical
support for the prevention of crimes against sexual freedom and sexual
integrity, in particular, the sexual freedom and sexual integrity of minors
and juveniles of our society.
It is worth noting that the psychology of a criminal’s behavior is related
to situations that arose long before he committed the crime. In this regard,
the prevention of crimes against sexual freedom and the integrity of the
child is the responsibility not only of law enforcement agencies but also
of other authorities, educational institutions, enterprises, institutions, and
organizations dealing with children.
Thus, the positive dynamics in the prevention of crimes against
sexual freedom and the inviolability of the child will be provided by the
identication and prior active work with disadvantaged families in which a
situation may arise that would lead to a violation of the rights of the child.
According to the authors, it is also necessary to introduce sex education
lessons in schools to help identify children suffering from sexual violence or
its initial manifestations, to instill in children an understanding of normal
sexual relations, which in the future in the case of encroachment on sexual
freedom and inviolability the child will have the ability to understand
the illegality of the actions. Periodic conversations with children about
how to act in such situations should also be mandatory to avoid negative
consequences and prevent the commission of the crime itself.
As children of all ages suffer from sexual crimes, prevention of the
above-mentioned crimes should be carried out with the parents or legal
representatives of the children, regardless of the social status of the family.
Dzhuzha (2009) emphasizes that many parents are unaware of their legal
rights and freedoms, the procedure for processing applications and appeals
of citizens by law enforcement agencies. Combined with the mental shock
they typically experience when their children become victims of crime, this
leads to law enforcement allegations that law enforcement ofcials do not
always report child abuse. Because of this, there is an urgent need to create
specialized centers where child victims of crime and their parents could
receive free timely qualied psychological and legal assistance.
The above indicates the need to create a strong system of juvenile
justice in Ukraine, which, according to Krestovska (2008), is a system of
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Yuliia Chornous, Hanna Nikitina-Dudikova, Olena Lepei, Anastasiia Antoniuk y Mariia
Fridman-Kozachenko
Investigation of sexual crimes against children
state, municipal and public, judicial, law enforcement and human rights
bodies, institutions, and organizations based on juvenile law and with the
help of medical, social and psychological-pedagogical methods administer
justice for children, prevention and prevention of offenses against and
against children, protection of rights, freedoms, and interests, as well as
resocialization of children in difcult life situations
Law, as a system of mandatory rules of conduct introduced or sanctioned
by the state, is the most effective regulator of public relations. No other
social norms, such as traditions, customs, norms of morality, etc., can
regulate and ensure the protection of various social relations as the rules
of law do (Tkalych et al., 2020). The creation of the EU was a triumph
for the principles of liberal democracy. Postwar Europe has become one
of the most developed regions and for many years has been a magnet for
people from all over the world (Shyshka and Tkalych, 2020). Ukraine’s
path to membership in the European Union is constitutionally enshrined.
Nevertheless, to be a member of the EU, it is necessary to comply with
the requirements of the Union and to harmonize legislation (Pavlova et
al., 2020). Currently, juvenile justice institutions in Ukraine are generally
developing at a slow pace and rather one-sidedly, i.e. only within the
framework of criminal proceedings against minors, while other offenses
committed by third parties against minors are ignored, which entails the
inability to create an effective mechanism for the protection of children’s
rights, taking into account their special legal status.
In particular, as a result, the representative of the Verkhovna Rada
Commissioner for Human Rights for the Rights of the Child and Family,
Filipishyna during a round table in the Committee on Law Enforcement,
held by video conference on September 22, 2020, stated that the percentage
of crimes of sexual the nature of the violation of the rights of the child is
unsatisfactory. Thus, the representative noted that according to the Ofce
of the Prosecutor General during January-August 2020, 147 children were
victims of rape. Instead, for the whole of 2019, the number of children
affected by this crime was 148. Filipishyna also noted that as of August
2020, 44 criminal proceedings were registered under Article 155 of the
Criminal Code of Ukraine “sexual intercourse with a person who has not
reached sexual maturity” (Law Enforcement Committee, 2020).
Conclusions
Protection and defense of the rights of the child is one of the primary
tasks of the state. At the same time, the level of crime, which is subject to
sexual freedom and inviolability, has recently been unsatisfactory, so there
is a need to develop clear mechanisms for detecting, investigating, and
preventing these crimes.
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The case-law of the ECtHR is currently replete with precedents concerning
children’s rights, in particular to sexual freedom and inviolability, indicating
a low level of protection and protection by many States.
The problem of detecting sexual crimes against children is the default
of children, parents, or other authorities and persons who have learned the
relevant information, the reluctance of parents to report the crime due to
the possible condemnation by society, and potential future consequences
for the child in the event of accidental disclosure of information about the
crime.
Investigations of crimes against the sexual freedom and inviolability
of children should be carried out taking into account the specics of the
crime and the psychological characteristics of the child. Therefore, it is of
great importance that the authorized person of law enforcement agencies
understands the psychology of the child and the ability to create a trusting
atmosphere when carrying out appropriate investigative actions, in
particular, the interrogation of the child.
Effective prevention of crimes against sexual freedom and inviolability
of the child can be achieved by creating an extensive system of juvenile
justice, clear consolidation of their powers and responsibilities, focusing
law enforcement on the prevention of such crimes, proper material,
technical and methodological support of relevant bodies, institutions and
organizations that work with children, sex education of children, periodic
interviews with parents / legal representatives.
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Esta revista fue editada en formato digital y publicada
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