Sexual Offenses within Close Relationships. Victims' Vulnerability and Criminal Proceedings

The chapter is part of a comparative research on the topic of sexual offences. In regard to this type of crimes, significant criminological information has emerged in various European States, that is a significant discrepancy between the number of complaints submitted to public authorities and the number of actual criminal convictions. As part of a survey investigating the factors that may contribute to this result, the chapter progresses with reference to the Italian legal system. Developing from an analysis of the criminal rules and recent judicial cases on the issue, the objective is to highlight the specific aspects of sexual offences committed in the context of close relationships. These crimes are characterized by factors inherent to the personal relationship between the subjects involved. The essay aims to emphasize how the victims’ psychological vulnerability, the lack of economic resources and social isolation could be an obstacle to the development of the criminal proceedings.