Legislation

1. At the international level

At the international level, they are circumscribed to the United Nations framework. Here are the Convention on the Rights of the Child, whose Article 19 refers to child abuse, and the General Comments of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which connect this International Law framework with educational, health, legal, and social realities concerning children and adolescents. The most relevant General Comments are:

• General Comment No. 12 on the right to be heard (2009)
• General Comment No. 13 on the right not to be subjected to any form of violence (2011)
• General Comment No. 14 on the right to have their best interest as a primary consideration (2014)

Furthermore, the commitments and goals of the 2030 Agenda in various areas must also be considered, with a particular focus on goal 16.2: “End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence and torture against children” within Goal 16 to promote peaceful, just, and inclusive societies. 

Additionally, the Council of Europe has a Steering Committee for the Rights of the Child (CDENF). Established in 2020, it is the Council of Europe’s intergovernmental body responsible for standard-setting activities in the field of children's rights and oversees the implementation of the Council of Europe Strategy for the Rights of the Child (2022-2027).

This body also oversees the Committee of Experts on the Prevention of Violence (ENF-VAE), a subordinate body that conducts a review of legislation, policies, and practices to strengthen responses to prevent and address violence against children, including sexual violence and harmful behavior. 

Related to violence against children and adolescents, the Council of Europe has international standards to ensure the protection of the rights of minors such as:

• the Convention for the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention)
• the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention)
• the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings
• the Convention on Cybercrime

Summary of the Lanzarote Convention

Summary of the Istanbul Convention

Summary of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings

Also at the international level is the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) which has the Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and the OSCE Action Plan against Trafficking in Human Beings.

2. At the European Union level

At the European Union level, the "protection of children's rights" is expressed through Article 3 of the Treaty of Lisbon and is a general objective of common policy, both internally and in external relations. More related to violence are:

• the Strategy for the Rights of the Child 2021-2024 (in English), whose point 3 deals with combating violence against children
• Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 5 April 2011, on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims,
• Directive 2011/92/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography,
• the EU Strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse (2020-2025)                     
   

3. At the national level

At the national level, the Spanish regulatory body has incorporated significant advances in defending the rights of minors, as well as in their protection against violence. 

This evolution fits with the reform carried out in the Organic Law 1/1996, of January 15, on the Legal Protection of Minors, partly amending the Civil Code and the Civil Procedure Act, by the Organic Law 8/2015, of July 22, and the Law 26/2015, of July 28, both modifying the system for the protection of childhood and adolescence, which introduces as a guiding principle of administrative action the protection of minors against all forms of violence, including those occurring in their family environment, gender-based violence, trafficking and human trafficking, and female genital mutilation, among others. 

And it is very important the entry into force of the Organic Law 8/2021, of June 4, on comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against violence (LOPIVI) (English version). This law aims to combat violence against children and adolescents from a comprehensive approach, unique in the entire European territory. The law goes beyond administrative frameworks and reaches various areas to assert its holistic intent. Violence against minors is a widespread reality across multiple fronts. It can often go unnoticed due to the privacy of the environments in which it occurs, such as family and school spheres, which should, in any case, be frameworks of security and personal development for children and adolescents. Additionally, it is common for sociological, educational, cultural, health, economic, administrative, and legal variables to converge in these scenarios of violence, requiring any legislative approach to the issue to have a broad multidisciplinary focus.

This law, from a didactic perspective, gives essential priority to prevention, socialization, and education, both among minors and families and civil society itself. The regulation establishes measures for protection, early detection, assistance, restoration of violated rights, and victim recovery, inspired by comprehensive care models identified as best practices in avoiding secondary victimization. This law has also strengthened the rights of children and adolescents, as its objective is to guarantee their fundamental rights: to their physical, psychological, and moral integrity, against any form of violence, ensuring the free development of their personality and establishing comprehensive protection measures, including awareness, prevention, early detection, protection, and repair of damage in all areas of their lives.

Alongside this, it should be noted that, in accordance with the territorial and administrative structure of the Spanish State, the Autonomous Communities, endowed with legislative power, have extensively developed regional legislation on the protection and promotion of the rights of minors.

It is noted that, as part of the commitment that appears in the seventh additional provision of Organic Law 8/2021, the Follow-up Commission of the LOPIVI is created, responsible for analyzing the implementation of the law, its legal and economic repercussions, and assessing its impact. The Commission is created by the Order PCM/126/2023, of February 10, being an inter-administrative cooperation body attached to the Ministry of Youth and Childhood in which several ministries participate. After several meetings, the Commission has collaborated in drafting the LOPIVI implementation report, a reasoned report that includes an analysis and suggestions for system improvement.