The European Commission adopted a proposal on Tuesday to strengthen the fight against child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation by expanding the definition of these crimes and strengthening the charges.
In a statement, the Commission announced that a proposal to toughen criminal penalties for pedophilia, child pornography and sexual exploitation was approved on Tuesday after months of discussions with the European Parliament.
“Child sexual abuse is a terrible crime that has changed significantly in recent years. These tougher rules broaden the definitions of crimes and introduce stricter penalties, as well as more specific requirements for prevention and assistance to victims,” says Ursula von Executive der Leyen.
The proposal was initiated by Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson, who admitted at the end of the year that such crimes were becoming increasingly difficult to detect and combat.
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union must now agree to this proposal.
Once adopted, the directive must enter into force within 20 days of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
The proposal also accompanies a 2022 amendment to digital platforms’ obligations to detect and report sexual abuse of minors, as well as its complete repeal.
“The threat is real and it has increased in the European Union. For example, guides to pedophilia are still available online, posing an increased threat to the most vulnerable populations. Additionally, the growing presence of children on the Internet and technological developments have created more opportunities for abuse. In 2022 alone, there were 1.5 million reports of sexual violence in the EU,” the Commission added in a statement.
The Commission therefore wants to expand the “definition of criminal offenses related to sexual violence” across all countries of the bloc so that there is uniformity.
The proposal included criminalizing “live broadcasting of sexual violence” as well as anyone possessing or distributing pedophilia manuals.
Given the unprecedented development of artificial intelligence, the European Commission also included in the proposal the criminalization of child pornography content created using this tool, as well as “deepfakes” – images or videos, for example, with the face of a person in another body.
The proposal would also extend the reporting period to allow a victim to report an abuser without the perpetrator being protected by the statute of limitations for crimes.
Victims are also entitled to financial compensation to “cope with the long-term consequences of sexual violence.”
The 27 public bloc countries should also work to improve prevention through outreach initiatives to children to warn them about the dangers of the Internet and the behavior of sexual predators.
“It will also be mandatory to report offenses, at least to professionals working with children,” the Commission added.
In early December, a group of European adults from 27 countries who had been victims of childhood sexual abuse handed over 500,000 signatures in the presence of representatives of the European Parliament in Brussels demanding strengthening of the fight against pedophilia and child pornography. Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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