Some features of the criminal law regulation of liability for sexual abuse against children in some European countries

Abstract

There is the search for optimal ways to improve domestic legislation in terms of criminal liability for sexual abuse of children by analyzing the latest changes and additions to the Criminal Code of some European countries. One such way is to criminalize such an act as "cybergrooming". The analysis of the relevant criminal law of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Bulgaria and the Kingdom of Spain has allowed to conclude that the approach of the legislator of the Republic of Bulgaria to the regulation of criminal liability for "cybergrooming" seems to be worth worth studying its practical application in order to determine the possibility of future borrowing by the domestic legislator. In addition, on the positive side, the Criminal Code of this state has criminal liability for lewd acts or sexual intercourse with a minor engaged in prostitution. The Criminal Code of the Kingdom of Spain deserves attention to the existence of a single rule (Article 183), which includes various manifestations of sexual violence against children. The author has noted that such an approach of the legislator of this state also requires a separate, more in-depth analysis for its possible borrowing by the domestic legislator. In addition, it is worth studying the issue of separate criminalization in the Criminal Code of Ukraine as sexual violence, sexual intercourse with persons aged sixteen to eighteen, committed with the use of influence on the victim in such ways as: fraud or abuse of trust, abuse of official position by an official.