We learned this week that the Court of Getxo has closed the case of 4-year-old children from the Europa School. This leads us to ask: are the judicial, police, etc. authorities prepared to respond to the children’s requests? Are our children really protected when they are victims of such violence? Sexual abuse against children is not a new phenomenon, but we have recently realized its true dimension thanks to awareness, research and the dynamics that motivate it to testify.

The report on crimes against sexual freedom indicates that in 2023 there were 9,185 victimizations of minors in the Spanish State. And they occur to a greater extent if we compare them with the elderly (Ministry of the Interior of Spain, 2023).

It is important to remember that these data refer only to the cases reported. It is estimated that only 15 per cent of sexual abuse of children is due to social stigma, economic difficulties, usually because the aggressor is a person close to the family or simply because of the exhaustion of the judicial process.

In addition, approximately 70 per cent of cases of sexual violence against minors entering the legal system never reach oral proceedings. This is precisely the result of the cases of girls in Getxo and, among others, minors in Ugao.

It is essential to understand that sexual abuse against children does not always involve physical contact. Filming a child naked or showing sexual content is also violence against children. In Ugao’s case, Bilbao Court No. 6 closed the case on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to support the accusations against a man who allegedly filmed 11-12 year-olds in municipal locker rooms.

The case was archived twice, this happened despite the testimonies of 11 people and the identification of the same man by a school football coach a few months earlier, recording the shoots of local players. However, the court found that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case. In response, the families expressed their concern and stated that the defendant ' s home and electronic devices had not been registered either. Paradoxically, it was one of the mothers who was charged by the alleged aggressor, in which case they did arrive at the oral trial, but in the end the woman was acquitted.

In the case of 4-year-old girls from the Europa School in Getxo, the families indicate that the court did not accept essential evidence, such as the statements made by the pediatricians of the Cruces Hospital who cared for the children, and by some parents. Similarly, a child with Autism Spectrum Syndrome was not subjected to preformed testing and the mother was not given the opportunity to confess, which violates her basic right to speak through others. And although the evidence contained evidence, medical reports and several children pointed to the same man, also in this case the judge decided to file the case for the moment.

Another current example is in the Lea-Artibai region, where the child psychological service of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia warned that there were indicators of possible abuse of a 5-year-old girl. After a quick trial in the Gernika courts, the parents decide to continue the shared custody visits.

The families concerned agree that the judicial system is not adapted to care for children, and this diagnosis is consistent with several studies. In particular, according to Save the Children (2023), court proceedings are too long and minors must testify several times, in some cases three or four times before trial. In only 24.9 per cent of cases, preformed evidence is used, which allows the recording of testimony in order to prevent revictimization.

In addition, the professionals involved are not always sensitized or trained to deal with minors in vulnerable situations. Instead of appropriate protocols and psychological support, they encounter lengthy court proceedings, obstacles to the credibility of testimonies and a sense of helplessness that may prevent future complaints. This makes the impact of abuse on victims even more serious (Basque Strategy to Combat Violence against Children and Adolescents, 2022-2025).

In view of the above, we consider it urgent to take into account community, national and international regulations that establish the basic principles for the protection of minors in the judicial field, such as avoiding re-victimization, minimizing interviews, ensuring that these interviews are conducted by trained professionals, recording them for use as evidence and ensuring that in the process the victim does not have direct contact with the accused.

After all, those responsible for the protection of minors are not always able to provide them with the support and assistance they need, leaving their families in a state of uncertainty and despair. The voices of children and adolescents are not always heard and their testimonies are often ignored...

It is essential to improve our institutions and adapt to these realities. The judicial complaint, in addition to its criminal function, also allows the identification of the aggressors and the prevention of new cases. But the protection of children does not end in the judicial sphere. There is still much to do in other social spaces, such as in the audiovisual industry, in the media, in fashion, in the fight against the hypersexualization of children.

Child sexual abuse is not an isolated or remote problem. And denying its existence only benefits the attackers. It is time to take firm action on prevention, protection and justice.

Oihane Artetxe, UPV/EHU researcher
Jennifer Osorio, social educator expert in childhood and adolescence