Manifestations of differential penal policy towards child victims with a look at the Child and Adolescent Protection Law adopted in 2020

Child victimization poses a dire threat to the most sensitive and important assets of society. Accordingly, in international documents and domestic laws, differential policies have been adopted to prevent victimization while limiting and eliminating its effects and preclude secondary child victimization. Using the library and descriptive method, the present study, with emphasis on the Child and Adolescent Protection Law, attempts to discuss the aspects of the differential policy approach aimed to protect child victims in the iranian legal system. The results indicate that there were scattered, yet inadequate, regulations protecting children in various substantive and formal aspects in the past; However, while developing the scope of differential protecting regulations, the enactment of the Child and Adolescent Protection Law in 2020 has provided considerable preventive and monitoring- oriented views, especially through making legal intervention in favor of children and adolescents that are at risk or victimization. It can be said that this law clearly factors in differential policies including determining several crimes and specific punishments aimed at protecting children and adolescents and considering special institutional, disciplinary and judicial organizations with the aim of managing, preventing and dealing with child victimization and limiting its effects.