Child sexual abuse constitutes a grave violation of the rights of the child. The consequences of sexual abuse experienced in childhood are far-reaching - they severely limit and undermine a child's healthy development. Such abuse also influences the quality of their lives in adulthood. Awareness, professional excellence, and appropriate legal regulation are quintessential in the treatment of sexually abused children. Protection against violence against children is provided by states based on their respective constitutions, international acts, laws, and by-laws. This thesis addresses, on the one hand, the consequences of child sexual abuse based on previous research and perpetrators, and on the other the criminal law theory and the provisions of the law related to the field in question. We examined various influences on the development of this part of criminal law and the sentencing practice of the courts concerning the criminal offence of sexual assault against a person under 15 years of age. Analysis of the data demonstrated that the trend in the number of prison sentences and suspended sentences for criminal offence of sexual assault against a person under the age of 15 is on the rise. Comparing the average amount of imprisonment imposed for a particular form of criminal offence of sexual assault on a person under the age of 15, the analysis of the data revealed that the sentences imposed under the currently harsher Slovenian Criminal Code (KZ-1) are slightly higher than the sentences imposed under the formerly valid Criminal Code (KZ), but the difference is not significant. The results were also similar when comparing suspended sentences under both laws.

Spolna zloraba otroka pomeni grobo kršitev otrokovih pravic. Posledice spolne zlorabe, doživete v otroštvu, so daljnosežne, močno omejijo in pohabijo zdrav razvoj otroka. Žrtve zaznamujejo in vplivajo na kvaliteto njihovega življenja tudi v odrasli dobi. Pri obravnavi spolno zlorabljenih otrok so ozaveščenost, strokovna odličnost in ustrezna pravna regulacija ključnega pomena. Varstvo pred nasiljem nad otroki države zagotavljajo na podlagi ustave, mednarodnih aktov, zakonov in podzakonskih predpisov. Ta diplomska naloga se na eni strani ukvarja s posledicami spolne zlorabe otroka na podlagi dosedanjih raziskav in storilci ter na drugi s kazenskopravno teorijo in določbami zakona, povezanimi z obravnavanim področjem. V njej proučujemo različne vplive na razvoj tega dela kazenskega prava in kaznovalno prakso sodišč v zvezi s kaznivim dejanjem spolnega napada na osebo, mlajšo od 15 let. Analiza podatkov je pokazala, da je trend števila zapornih kazni in pogojnih obsodb za kazniva dejanja spolnega napada na osebo, mlajšo od 15 let, v porastu. Pri primerjavi povprečne višine zaporne kazni, prisojene za posamezno obliko kaznivega dejanja spolnega napada na osebo, mlajšo od 15 let, je analiza podatkov pokazala, da so kazni, prisojene po danes veljavnem, strožjem Kazenskem zakoniku (KZ-1), nekoliko višje od kazni, prisojenih po nekdaj veljavnem Kazenskem zakoniku Republike Slovenije (KZ), vendar razlika ni bistvena. Rezultati so bili podobni tudi pri primerjavi pogojnih obsodb po obeh zakonih.