"The Role of Criminal Justice in Protecting the Rights of Vulnerable Victims"

Abstract

The research relied on the critical analytical approach through studying the Iraqi legal texts related to child protection, especially the Penal Code No. 111 of 1969, and analyzing their adequacy in addressing crimes of abuse. The comparative approach was also used through reviewing international conventions and some advanced Arab legislation. The study showed the shortcomings of Iraqi legislation in criminalizing child abuse as an independent crime, and its reliance on general texts that do not consider the privacy of childhood. Article (383) is limited to exposing the child to danger without directly criminalizing abuse, which weakens criminal protection. The study recommended the necessity of enacting a special law to protect the child that includes a comprehensive definition of abuse and means of prevention and punishment:

"One of the key findings is that vulnerable groups (women, children, minorities) suffer from legal and social vulnerability that makes them more susceptible to abuse in the criminal environment, whether as victims of violence or as participants in justice procedures without adequate safeguards. Despite Iraq's signing of several international agreements related to the protection of these groups, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) and CEDAW (1979), the Iraqi legislative reality does not adequately reflect the obligations of these agreements, particularly in the absence of special laws for domestic violence or gender-based violence. The Iraqi Penal Code No. 111 of 1969 does not include detailed provisions that explicitly and clearly criminalize all forms of harm directed against women or children and grants mitigating legal excuses in some cases that contradict the logic of modern criminal justice.