Sexual abuse of children and their protection

Child sexual abuse is a problem that societies face globally and is the most severe violation of children's rights and dignity. Also, a growing number of victims of sexual violence are children and the recorded age of victims is continuously decreasing. The consequences are terrifying both for the physical and mental health of the child, as well as for the overall development of the child as a person and the quality of life as an adult. Children abuse is a phenomenon influenced by many factors. Multiple protection and protection at different levels is needed. The system of protective interventions should cover different levels of prevention, recognition and detection of victims, dealing with victims and perpetrators of sexual abuse. The Republic of Macedonia has developed legislation and has adopted the European legislation regarding this issue and has developed a system of social protection for children victims of sexual abuse. However, despite the declarative setting of the protection of children against sexual abuse, there are many inconsistences. Taking into consideration the knowledge about the prevalence of sexual abuse of children, the subject of this work is precisely the fore mentioned form of violence. The aim is to obtain a complete picture of the definition of this problem, the situation, as well as the establishment of the system of legal and social protection in relation to sexual abuse of children