Legal Preparedness for Child Sexual Abuse -With Focus on Sexual Abuse of Infants Under the Age of Seven -

As the number of incidents increases, child sexual abuse is becoming a serious social issue. Child sexual abuse is hidden privately but, at the same time, is a ubiquitous crime. Establishing prevention or legal preparedness to child sexual abuse is a problem that the society must cooperatively be responsible for. As school entrance is a period in which the cognitive ability greatly develops, schoolchildren are clearly distinguished from preschool children. Therefore, preschool children are the ones that need even greater protection from sexual abuse. This study will define infants generally as preschool children, who are "children under the age of seven," according to the definition in the Infant Education Act of the Republic of Korea, and research child sexual abuse. Unlike previous studies that analyze general sexual abuse cases, this research focuses on child sexual abuse and analyzes the administrative results of the ’Sunflower Children’s Center,’ which has been dealt with for the past seven months, in categories such as counseling cases, the status of victimized children, the status of assaulters, the class of reporters, and the status of charges. The characteristics of child sexual abuse is thus studied, and related legislation in Korea as well as in other countries is examined. In accordance with such characteristics of child sexual abuse, the civil and criminal procedures for damage relief and prevention of recurrence, especially the appropriate legal preparedness in investigation and judicial procedures with the importance of criminal procedures taken into consideration, will be examined. Thus, this paper strives for ways in which victimized children can return to society. Ultimately, the issue of child sexual abuse is a hidden crime. When the society as a whole acts upon it, rather than considering it an individual problem, child sexual abuse will fundamentally be prevented or dealt with, and victimized children will be able to return normally to society.restrictio