Sexual abuse of a child is any sexual conduct in relation to a child where consent is not or cannot be given. In legal terms sexual abuse of the child covers offences from 173., 173.a and 176. article of the Slovenian criminal code. Annual average is approximately 100 criminal offences of sexual assault on a person younger than 15 years (article 173) and all three crimes about 68 per year. The number of false allegations of child sexual abuse is, like the definition of this concept, quite elusive. False allegations of child sexual abuse are those which are untrue. This includes intentionally false allegations (falling within the scope of the article 283 of Slovenian criminal code), unsubstantiated allegations and false denials. Research shows that 30% of the allegations of sexual abuse of children are unsubstantiated and 4% are intentionally false. Same research shows that allegations of child sexual abuse are present in only 2% of the divorce proceedings, however the percentage of intentionally false allegations was not analysed. According to another study, the share of intentionally false allegations in the divorce proceedings is around 12%. When there is a suspicion of sexual abuse of a child, it is necessary to carry out an appropriate procedure that needs to be child-friendly. A good example of appropriate treatment and the process of obtaining the child's statements are NICHD protocol and the Barnahus.
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