Sexual violence against children and adolescents: the importance of the victim's testimony in sexual crime

Abstract

This article aims to analyze the importance of the victim's testimony in sexual crimes against children and adolescents, given the evidentiary difficulties characteristic of this offense. It seeks to understand how Brazilian legal understanding and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) and the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) have addressed the value of the victim's testimony in such cases, considering the principle of integral protection and the dignity of the human person. The methodology will be bibliographic and documentary, with qualitative analysis. However, it demonstrates that, although the victim's testimony has relevant and often decisive probative value, its use must be analyzed with caution in order to avoid unjust convictions. It concludes that a balance must be struck between the protection of the victim and the observance of the procedural guarantees of the accused.