Some Criminal Investigation Aspects of Child Sexual Abuse Detection in Slovenia

Abstract

This article presents research on characteristics of detecting child sexual abuse in Slovenia. Conducted in 2010 and 2011 in Slovenia, this study was divided into two parts. In the first, a review of 70 randomly selected police case records of sexual assault on a person under the age of fifteen years from year 2003 was performed. In the second, a focus group interview with prosecutors and criminal investigators of child sexual abuse cases was conducted to gain insight into the practice of detecting and investigating child sexual abuse.

The findings indicate that sexually abused children show more psychological signs and social trauma at the same time. However, the physical signs that were visible on the victim's body mostly contributed to the detection of such crimes. The research furthermore indicated that child sexual abuse was most often disclosed by the victims themselves and reported by their mothers. The role of educational and care institutions regarding child sexual abuse detection is more important than the role of the police which, as an institution, usually does not meet with children during their work. The role of the police is therefore very specific. The main task is determining truth in each case of reported child sexual abuse.