Protection of Victims in Criminal Proceedings with Emphasis on Child Victims of Sexually Motivated Crimes

Abstract

The paper deals with the issue of protection of victims of sexually motivated crimes, namely the most vulnerable victims who are, undoubtedly, minors. The present paper pays attention to the situation in which such a victim of crime is the only or the key witness in the criminal proceedings. Particular emphasis is placed on the need to respect the right to be heard. In this context, the paper seeks to point out the contradiction that may inevitably arise between the need to protect the rights of particularly vulnerable victims on the one hand and the need to respect the right to crossexamine the witness belonging to the accused person. The paper tries to point out the problems and controversial issues that arise in the abovementioned context, while trying to solve them by analysing the relevant decisions of the Slovak and foreign judicial authorities.