Peer-reviewed article
Problems of administrative liability for domestic violence against children
Olena Maksymenko ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This is a legal and theoretical study about how Ukrainian administrative law addresses domestic violence against children. The author argues that current legislation does not adequately distinguish between violence against children and adults, and proposes amendments to create more severe penalties for offenders. The study uses legal research methods to examine definitions, statistical trends, and protective frameworks in Ukrainian law.
Key points
- Ukrainian Code of Administrative Offences does not distinguish between domestic violence against children versus adults
- Statistical evidence shows the number of children suffering from domestic violence is increasing annually
- Current legal framework lacks specificity about child-focused consequences and penalties
- The study proposes amendments to Article 173-2 of the Code of Administrative Offences
Limitations
This is a theoretical legal analysis, not an empirical study of child outcomes or evaluation of an intervention. It does not present data on the prevalence of domestic violence against children, the harms experienced, or the effectiveness of any policy or legal change.
Abstract
The scientific research reflected in the content of this study is devoted to the main theoretical, legal and practical issues of administrative liability for domestic violence against a child. The purpose of the study – outline the specific features of protection of a child's right against domestic violence in Ukrainian legislation and identify the factors which indicate the necessity to distinguish domestic violence against a child as an administrative offence with more serious consequences, and, accordingly, to apply a more severe penalty to the offender. According to the purpose and specifics of the subject matter of the study, the author has applied a set of methods: philosophical methods – dialectical, phenomenological and others; general scientific methods: systematic, induction, deduction of analysis, synthesis, analogy, comparison; and methods of a specific legal science: comparative-legal, legal statistics, legal generalisation, legal analysis, formal-legal etc. The study examines the definition of domestic violence under Ukrainian law and summarises some ways to counteract this phenomenon. It is emphasised that the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences does not distinguish between the specifics of administrative liability for domestic violence against an adult and a child. However, according to statistical studies, the number of children suffering from domestic violence is increasing every year. It highlights the relevance of the study. The practical value is that the study identifies and characterises the main theoretical, legal and practical issues of administrative liability for domestic violence against a child, and develops substantiated proposals for amending Article 173-2 of the Code of Administrative Offences