Certain aspects of the position and rights of children as victims of criminal offenses

Children, as well as minors in general, represent one of the most sensitive social groups, and consequently, criminal acts hit children particularly hard. For this reason, the domestic legislator, like the majority of other legislators, incriminates when the crime is committed against a child as a serious or heaviest form of a specific criminal offense, that is, as a special qualifying circumstance. However, in addition to the fact that, within the framework of criminal material legislation, it prescribes qualified forms of criminal acts when children are the victims, legislator, within the framework of juvenile criminal legislation and other special regulations, also prescribes other measures aimed at improving and protecting the position of the child in criminal proceedings. This is because the protection of children as victims of crime is not only a legal issue, but also a social and moral imperative, which must be taken seriously to ensure that all children receive the protection and support they need to grow and develop. In terms of what has been stated, this paper points to the regulation of the position of the child as a victim of a criminal offense, primarily at a national level, starting from general protection standards, to individual solutions in some of the specific forms of criminality where children often appear as victims – family and sexual violence.