Legal Regulation of the Term "Social Orphanhood"

The article covers the study of existing approaches to the definition of the concepts of "orphanhood", "social orphanhood", "social orphan" in federal, regional and local regulatory legal acts. A gap existing in Russian legislation has been identified – the lack of a uniform definition of the concept of "social orphanhood". It is determined that the conceptual and categorical approaches used in normative legal acts do not have a universal character, which can lead to violations of the rights and legitimate interests of relevant entities. The available approaches to the definition of related concepts, such as: "orphaned children", "children left without parental care", "children in difficult life situations", are investigated, and terminological boundaries between them and the concept of "social orphanhood" are established. It is recommended to consolidate a single definition of the concepts of "social orphanhood" and "social orphan" in official domestic acts. For the purpose of victimological security and prevention of crime victims among minors, as the least protected category of citizens, the author's definition of the term "social orphanhood" and social differentiation of social orphans are proposed.