PUBERTY VS AGE: ON THE ISSUE OF A WARNING SIGN OF A VICTIM OF NON-VIOLENT INTERCOURSE WITH A MINOR.

The purpose of the study was to identify the most optimal sign of a victim of non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor based on the analysis of approaches to the definition of such a sign in the criminal legislation of different countries, as well as the doctrinal provisions of medicine and jurisprudence. In the process of research, such methods of scientific knowledge were used as: a dialectical approach, a comparative law method, general logical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, generalization), as well as a dogmatic method. The study of criminal legislation of a number of foreign countries and proposals expressed in criminal law science allowed to identify the main approaches to the definition of the sign of a victim, the presence or absence of which should have criminal law significance for qualifying the act as non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor. Such approaches are: 1) the age approach, according to which a person who has not attained a certain age is recognized as a victim; 2) the medical-physiological approach, which involves reaching a victim of puberty; 3) the mixed approaches: a) cumulative, providing for a person to reach puberty and a certain age; b) alternative, providing for a person to reach puberty or a certain age. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach are analyzed. It was concluded that there is no universal approach to determining the most optimal sign of a victim of non-violent sexual intercourse with a minor, since all the considered approaches have both advantages and disadvantages. A legislator in each particular state should independently determine which approach to use, the age of sexual consent to establish, taking into account the peculiarities of the mentality, traditions, culture, priorities of criminal law protection. Moreover, when choosing an age or one of the mixed approaches, it would be advisable to raise the issue of differentiating the age of sexual consent of boys and girls.