Child Rights Protection in Ethiopia: Critical Analysis of the Statutory Rape Provisions of the Criminal Code and Their Application
- 1 School of Law, Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia
Abstract
Children, due to their mental and physical immaturity, are among the vulnerable section of the society. States are thus required to provide special protection and care for children by making necessary legal and institutional arrangements. To this effect, Ethiopia has ratified international and regional human rights instruments meant to provide protection for children. It also included provisions protecting child rights in its constitution. These constitutional provisions have also found expression in the subsequent legislative reform that, among others, resulted in the adoption of a New Criminal Code in 2004. This Criminal Code replaces the provisions of the earlier 1957 Penal Code on statutory rape providing better protection for children against sexual abuse. Yet, gaps still persist both in the law and practice in terms of fully realizing the rights of children in Ethiopia. This article aims to examine the legal and practical protection of children by the statutory rape provisions of the Criminal Code in the Ethiopian legal system. In doing so, it attempts to evaluate the current statutory rape provisions of the Criminal Code against child rights standards as well as evaluating the practical application of the laws by courts and prosecutors.
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