Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA
- Document number
- 2881
- Date
- 2011
- Title
- Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA
- Author/publisher
- European Parliament, European Union
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- EU law,
- Keywords
- Brussels, 4 ovember 2011 (OR. en) 2010/0064 (COD), PE-COS 51/11, DROIPE 91 JAI 601 CODEC 1398
- Summary
- The Council adopted a directive aimed at combating sexual abuse and exploitation of children as well as child pornography. The directive will harmonise around twenty relevant criminal offences, at the same time setting high level of penalties. The new rules which have to be transposed into national law within two years also include provisions to fight against online child pornography and sex tourism. They also aim to prevent convicted paedophiles moving to another EU member state from exercising professional activities involving regular contacts with children. Finally, the directive introduces measures to protect the child victim during investigations and legal proceedings. Striking hard on paedophiles - high penalties.
The directive penalises the following offences across the EU and sets lower thresholds for their maximum penalties as compared to previous rules from 20041:
- Sexual abuse of children: Maximum penalties range from at least one year imprisonment for causing a child to witness sexual activities to at least ten years for coercing a child into sexual actions.
- Sexual exploitation of children: Sentences can go from at least two years imprisonment for attending pornographic performances involving children to a minimum of ten years for forcing a child into child prostitution.
- Child pornography: Unless for purposes of investigation, possessing child pornography must be punished with at least one year imprisonment; its production carries a sentence of at least three years imprisonment.
- Grooming, i.e. soliciting children for sexual purposes on the internet: In case the production of child pornography or child abuse were preceded by an online invitation to the child, for instance in a chat, the maximum sentence must be at least one year higher than otherwise. - Related documents