children’s rights

The appellant was convicted of debauchery for committing lewd acts against the victim, a girl under 14 years old. The first-instance court sentenced the defendant to five years of imprisonment and banned him for three years from continuing to volunteer at a children’s home. The appellate court left this decision unchanged. However, the Supreme Court changed the additional punishment, stating that courts may only impose such additional punishment if the commission of the crime was related to the perpetrator’s position or to engagement in certain activities.

The Law Against Sexual Violence, Exploitation and Human Trafficking defines and prohibits sexual violence, exploitation, and human trafficking. Among other things, the Law establishes that the penalty for sexual violence shall be imprisonment for a period of five to eight years, and that sentences can be increased for aggravating circumstances, such as gang rapes, sexual violence against the elderly or physically or mentally disabled, or the use of arms or drugs to carry out the sexual violence.

This case considers conformity of constitutional provisions mandating that the State shall ensure, foster, and protect fatherhood, motherhood, and childhood, with the Children’s Maintenance Fund’s requirement that the applicant and the child must permanently reside in Lithuania to receive benefits. The petitioner argued that if the applicant and the child would lose their state-guaranteed support upon leaving Lithuania, it would violate the right to freedom of movement and the State’s duty to prioritize child interests.

Scotland’s domestic abuse legislation came into force on April 1, 2019.  The statute defines domestic abuse broadly, including both psychological (“fear, alarm and distress”) and physical harm directed to a partner or an ex-partner.  See Section 1.  The statute defines a “partner” as a spouse or civil partner, a person with whom one lives as a spouse, or person with whom one is in an “intimate personal relationship.”  Section 11.2.  Abuse is “violent, threatening, or intimidating” behavior that may consist of controlling a victim’s daily activities, causing

Under section 15 of the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act, it is an offence to obtain sexual services from a person for payment or the promise of payment.  The Act does not make it an offence to sell sexual services, however. The Act also prohibits forced marriage (Art. 16). The Act requires the government to provide assistance to victims of trafficking and support to those who want to exit sex work (“prostitution”) (Art. 18). Committing any prohibited offence against a child is an aggravating factor (Art. 6(1)).

The Persons and Family Code of Benin which came into force in 2002 contains a number of provisions that protect women’s rights with respect to their spouse, the marital home, and the upbringing of children. For example, Article 1030 provides that uncodified customary law in Benin, which traditionally was discriminatory against women, is superseded by the Persons and Family Code. Article 119 of the Code states that marriage requires the consent of both spouses, and it provides women with the same rights as men in marriage.

Article 22 modified the French Civil Code, establishing a new civil law for eviction of a violent spouse from the matrimonial home. Specifically, the law amended the French Civil Code to provide that, where a violent spouse puts their spouse or children in danger, the judge may order separate residence, indicating which spouse may continue to live in the matrimonial home. Absent special circumstances, it is the violent spouse who should be ordered to leave the matrimonial home.

This law criminalizes child labor, exploitation, and trafficking. Exploitation includes, but is not limited to, all forms of slavery and servitude, forced labor, the use of children in armed conflicts and for organ trafficking, child prostitution and pornography of any kind, the use of children in other illicit activities, or any other activity that could put a child’s health, safety, and morality at risk.

This law creates a right to access reproductive health services in Benin without discrimination.  The law ensures access to reproductive health care and makes it a fundamental human right. The law lists several violations of the right to sexual and reproductive health, including all forms of sexual violence against women and children, female genital mutilations, pedophilia, voluntary transmission of HIV, exploitation in all its forms, forced prostitution of women and children, and forced marriages.

            Under Section 48, married women can keep their maiden names, use their husband’s surnames, or both, including after the dissolution of the marriage. To qualify for divorce under Section 61, the court must find the marriage can no longer function, and has “irretrievably broken down.” The court can consider factors under Section 64, such as a rape conviction, homosexual acts or other “unnatural” offenses, or cruelty. Under Section 61, no rights to consummation continue after the termination of the marriage.