THE CONCEPT AND STATE OF LEGAL REGULATION OF COUNTERACTING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN UKRAINE: A CRIMINAL LAW STUDY

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the concept of “domestic violence” in the science of criminal law and the legislation of Ukraine. It has been established that the number of appeals and reports of domestic violence in Ukraine is growing every year. The article explores various scientific approaches to the concept of “domestic violence” and related concepts. The following definition of the term “domestic violence” has been proposed: actions or threat of use of actions of a physical, psychological, economic or sexual nature, committed in relation to one of the spouses, relatives by blood, relatives on the spouse’s side or other relatives or persons who are connected by a common household, and (or) live together if such actions lead to physical or psychological suffering, health disorders, violate the human right to freedom and personal integrity, honor and dignity, or other legally protected rights or interests of the individual. Attention is focused on the fact that the problem of domestic violence is global in nature and concerns all countries of the world. The paper analyzes international legal acts in the field of domestic violence prevention and national legislation in this area, draws attention to conflicts and contradictions in the legislation that negatively affect the fight against domestic violence and bringing the perpetrators to justice. Based on the analysis of national legislation, it is proposed to distinguish 4 groups of victims of domestic violence: 1) spouses who are married, in de facto marital relations (without official marriage registration) or former spouses, 2) relatives by blood, 3) relatives through the spouse 4) others relatives or other persons connected by a common life, and (or) living together. It is noted that administrative and criminal liability is provided for committing domestic violence in Ukraine, and the sign of systematic domestic violence is crucial for the possibility of criminal prosecution for domestic violence. It is proposed to strengthen the responsibility for domestic violence by increasing the term of imprisonment for domestic violence up to 5 years, since now the maximum sentence for domestic violence is up to 2 years in prison, and often such punishment is not commensurate with the actions of the perpetrator and the suffering of victims of domestic violence.