Peer-reviewed article
Certain problematic aspects of distinguishing sexual violence against children from the corruption of minors
V.I. Diadichko ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a legal analysis of Ukrainian criminal law provisions distinguishing between sexual violence against children and corruption of minors. It examines how courts classify cases of sexual abuse of children under different articles of the Criminal Code and proposes clarifications to legal definitions. The article does not evaluate any intervention or measure intended to improve child well-being.
Key points
- Courts misclassify some cases of sexual violence against children under fourteen as physical abuse rather than sexual violence
- Legal distinction depends on age of consent (sixteen) and presence of voluntary consent
- Any touching of intimate body parts of children under sixteen should be classified as sexual violence, not corruption of minors
- Proposed amendment to clarify that lewd acts without sexual violence signs should distinguish from rape
Limitations
This document is a legal commentary and does not provide empirical data on child well-being outcomes, prevalence of abuse, or effectiveness of any protective measures or interventions.
Abstract
The article analyzes certain problematic aspects of distinguishing sexual violence against children, the liability for the commission of which should arise according to Parts 3-6 of article 152 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (hereinafter - the Criminal Code) from the corruption of minors. It is noted that if a child has reached the age of sixteen, then he acquires the status of a bearer of sexual freedom, and therefore has the right to choose his own sexual partner, as well as methods of sexual communication with him, and there can be no question of any kind of depravity of minors, in the context of Article 156 of the Criminal Code. The only thing that matters is the fact that a child of that age voluntarily consents to sexual intercourse with a partner. It was found that the courts continue the practice of qualifying cases of sexual violence against children who have not reached the age of fourteen, which was accompanied by indecent touching of the genitals of the victims, as physical abuse of minors under Article 156 of the Criminal Code, and not under Part 3-6 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code, as it must be carried out in accordance with the current criminal legislation. It was concluded that any touching of intimate parts of the body of minor victims, regardless of the presence of voluntary consent to such actions on their part, should be qualified only as sexual violence against children according to the relevant part of Article 153 of the Criminal Code. Whereas lewd acts, according to the disposition of Article 156 of the Criminal Code, should be considered acts that do not contain signs of sexual violence, in the context of part 1 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code. It is suggested that one of the ways to solve the problem of distinguishing sexual violence against children (parts 3-6 of Article 153 of the Criminal Code) from such a form of manifestation of the depravity of minors (Article 156 of the Criminal Code), as physical rape, may be to clarify the disposition of Article 156 of the Criminal Code, namely, the presentation of part 1 of it in the following form: “1. Committing, in the absence of signs of sexual violence, lewd acts against a person who has not reached the age of sixteen,...”.