Murat AKBABA, Emre YULUĞ, Mustafa Uğur ŞAŞTIM, Aysun BARANSEL ISIR

A study on the differences in legal practices in child abuse cases with examples from different countries

Sex crimes against children is a global problem. The rate of such crimes are significant even societies with high levels of education and income. This study aimed to address necessary measures to minimize this problem by discussing the data and laws regarding sex crimes against children in five countries.The study reviewed scientific data on sex crimes against children in India, Canada, the Netherlands, UK and Turkey and the relevant penal codes in these countries, and compared the respective articles and practices. India is one of the countries with the highest number of child sexual abuse cases. The most interesting aspect of the Canadian law is that the law mentions peer relationships. It is noted that the criminal justice system in the Netherlands is, as opposed to many other countries, based on principles of rehabilitation and resocialization. The longer penalty times are striking in UK Sexual Offences Act 2003.The data from Turkish Statistical Institute shows that the number of sexual abuse cases are extremely high in Turkey.Child sexual abuse is a frequent problem in the world. Unfortunately, related studies, training and legislative regulations are not sufficient to solve this problem. It is observed that abuse cases increase in countries having weak and middle economies; however, the opposite evaluation is not completely correct. It can’t be suggested that standard education programs, increased levels of income and the securing of justice are the only solutions. Sexual abuse training through standard methods are insufficient to prevent this problem. Educational specialists need to develop new educational methods to address the problem. The rehabilitation of child victims is as important as punishment of offenders. This study advocates that necessary steps should be taken for the widespread establishment of Child Protection Centers, which play a significant role in the rehabilitation and treatment of victims.

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