Original scientific paper

Violence Against Children and Juvenile Crime in Eighteenth Century Dubrovnik

Darija Stanić ; Sveučilište u Dubrovniku, Dubrovnik, Hrvatska
Ivana Mrđen ; Sveučilište u Dubrovniku, Dubrovnik, Hrvatska
Rina Kralj-Brassard orcid.org/0000-0003-0312-6875 ; Zavod za povijesne znanosti HAZU, Dubrovnik, Hrvatska

Abstract

On the basis of the records of the central Criminal Court in Dubrovnik and other sources in the period 1711-1720, 1751-1760 and 1791-1800, the criminal offences involving children and younger juveniles are analysed. The Dubrovnik Republic accepted 14 as the traditional age limit for criminal responsibility. However, girls aged 12 and boys aged 14 were considered adults. Only a few cases where these young adults appear are included in the analysis. The number of the criminal proceedings involving the aforementioned groups, their share in the total number of the criminal cases as well as the types of criminal offences committed against or by children and younger juveniles are discussed. The children and younger juveniles are found in the Criminal Court records in as little as 1% of the total number of cases and are predominantly portrayed as the victim and rarely as the perpetrator of a crime. The boys fell victim of the play with arms and the girls suffered beatings and rape. Infanticide was the most common form of child homicide and all the victims were children born out of wedlock. Although infanticide was punishable by death, no death sentence was pronounced for this offence. Child rape was extremely rare but a relatively high share of all rapes involved children. Juvenile delinquents were almost always boys and the most serious crime committed was the accidental manslaughter of a playmate. The legal proceedings in crimes involving children and younger juveniles were expeditious and for the most serious crimes were initiated ex officio. The questioning of the children and young juveniles at the Criminal Court was the same as that of the adults. Although the age of the offender had to be taken into account when delivering judgment, children as young as ten were sentenced to prison. The beginning of the eighteenth century witnessed a high level of violence with a relatively high number of violent crimes against children and young juveniles. A fall in the number of violent crimes against these groups can be observed by the mid-eighteenth century. The last decade of the eighteenth century was characterised by an overall increase in the number of the criminal cases involving children and juveniles but most offences were minor.

Keywords

Dubrovnik; 18th century; violence; children; criminal proceedings; juvenile crime

Hrčak ID:

137823

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/137823

Publication date:

13.4.2015.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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