DEFAMATION AS A FORM OF MORAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL VIOLENCE (CRIMINAL-LEGAL ASPECT)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze defamation as a socio-moral and psychological phenomenon, which by its actions, degrades the honor and dignity of a person and leads to negative consequences. The article states that the Constitution of Ukraine declares a person’s inalienable right to his freedom, honor, dignity, inviolability, and security. It gives every citizen broad rights to freedom of thought and speech, on the free expression of views and beliefs. The article emphasizes that among offenses aimed at degrading the honor and dignity of a person, defamation plays a significant role as a form of moral and psychological violence, which leads to moral and psychological suffering suffered by a person as a result of illegal behavior towards him, his family members, or close relatives. The basic law gives every person the right to legal protection aimed at refuting inaccurate information about himself and his family members. The article emphasizes that, in addition to the Constitution of Ukraine, human rights and freedoms are protected by the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the Civil Code of Ukraine, and other normative legal acts. The Criminal Code of Ukraine is also on guard to protect honor, dignity, and business reputation. The article emphasizes that defamation is a socially dangerous act that degrades the honor and dignity of a person and leaves deep wounds in an individual's emotional, spiritual, and moral sphere. The article establishes that defamation as a form of moral and psychological violence causes numerous discussions among scientists. Currently, the general concepts are those whose representatives deny the criminalization of defamation and its legal responsibility. They claim that the Central Committee of Ukraine has norms that protect the honor and dignity of a person from defamation; therefore, this norm should not be included in the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The article’s author emphasizes that defamation as a socially dangerous, anti-legal, anti-humane, anti-moral, anti-cultural, and anti-aesthetic phenomenon is aimed at humiliating the honor and dignity of a person, which inflicts deep wounds on his psyche and leads to moral suffering and sometimes to tragic consequences should be characterized by the legislator as a criminal offense, and the guilty persons should be held criminally liable. The article substantiates that criminal liability for defamation is an important factor in preventing a number of offenses that sometimes lead to tragic consequences. The article indicates that the modern mass media should more actively fight for general cultural and moral, and legal education of the population, but recently some mass media have been chasing so-called "hot" facts and events, and therefore the critical analysis of defamation facts has been lost from their field of view. , assistance to law enforcement agencies in identifying guilty persons and bringing them to criminal responsibility. The article states that defamation is shameful behavior, which indicates the low moral, ethical and cultural level of the persons who commit it. Norms of morality and civil legal remedies cannot fully fulfill the role of a deterrent factor and effectively protect against defamation and insult. The very logic of preserving a person's rights and freedoms from psychological aggression and its negative consequences requires a more effective fight by criminal legal means.