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| Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Baltic Sea Region 3/1/98 |
A survey with recommendations, March 1998
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Baltic Sea Region- A survey with recommendations, March 1998
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. INTRODUCTION
2. THE INCIDENCE OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION
2.1 The Task Force on organised crime in the Baltic Sea Region
3. LEGISLATION
3.2 Existence of special provisions regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children
3.3 The child and court proceedings - procedural questions
3.4 Dual criminality-extraterritorial jurisdiction
4. SOCIAL SERVICE
4.1 Curricula of schools for social workers
4.2 Duty of notification
4.3 General preventive measures in the Member States in the field of sexual exploitationof children
4. 4 General rehabilitation measures in the Member States against sexual exploitation of children
4.5 Co-operation projects
5. POLICE
5.1 Curricula of the police academies
5.2 The Europol
5.3 Interpol and the Standing Working Party on Offences Against Minors
5.4 Co-operation projects
5.5 Local police co-operation at the borders
5.6 Police and Customs Liaison officers stationed in the Baltic Sea Region
6. TOURISM
7. MEDIA
8. ANNEX
1. Introduction
All Baltic Sea States have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, including article 34 where the State Party undertakes to protect children against sexual exploitation and abuse, including prostitution and involvement in pornography. According to the Convention a child means every human being below the age of 18 years, unless, under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.
Representatives from all Member States of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) participated in the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm in 1996, in which 122 governments were represented together with a number of NGOs, agencies within the UN family and other concerned organisations and individuals. The Congress adopted a document calling for global co-operation against commercial sexual exploitation of children. In this way the governments have pledged themselves to take a large number of specified measures at local, national, regional and international levels.
The Congress has been followed by initiatives in i.a. the Council of Europe, the European Union (EU) and the Nordic Council.
At the Second Summit of the Council of Europe in October 1997 the Heads of State and Government agreed to extend their co-operation, within the Council of Europe, with a view to preventing all forms of exploitation of children, including through the production, sale, marketing and possession of pornographic material involving children. Germany, which presently holds the chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers within the Council, has proposed that the Council holds a follow-up event to the Stockholm Congress in the spring of 1998.
In 1996 the European Council adopted a joint action, the STOP-programme, establishing an incentive and exchange programme for persons responsible for combating trade in human beings and sexual exploitation of children.
In a joint action against trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children which was adopted in February 1997 the Member States of EU have pledged themselves to regulate, among other things, that:
- all sexual exploitation of children, including trafficking in children, shall be punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties,
- possession of child pornography shall be punishable,
- obstacles to effective punishment for sexual exploitation of children taking place abroad, sex tourism involving children, shall be abolished,
- national co-operation between authorities and others which have the aim of combating trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children shall be intensified,
- exchange of information and international police and other judicial co-operation shall be given priority and be intensified.
The European Council has recently issued a joint declaration about the combat against tourism where children are exploited sexually.
At a conference between the ministers of justice and equality of the EU in the Hague 24-26 April 1997, a Declaration on European Guidelines for effective measures to prevent and combat trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation was adopted.
At its session in November 1996 the Nordic Council adopted a recommendation concerning initiatives in the combat against sexual abuse of children and sex tourism and about information in order to raise awareness of the serious nature of the abuse.
In April 1997 the Commissioner of the CBSS on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, including the Rights of Persons belonging to Minorities, evaluated in a report the implementation in CBSS Member States of specific articles in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. One of the areas of study was sexual abuse of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
At a meeting of the CBSS in July 1997 the Ministers of Foreign Affairs decided upon the report and instructed the Council of Senior Officials (CSO) to organise the work on this issue, including to study and evaluate the extent of sexual exploitation in the region, and to exchange information on existing measures.
The Working Group on Assistance to Democratic Institutions (WGDI) in special session (the Expert Group) was assigned to report on commercial sexual exploitation of children in the region and to put forward proposals for co-operation projects. A Special Group within the Swedish delegation to the WGDI has supported the work.
The Expert Group has completed its task in January 1998. In a report the Expert Group has presented its conclusions and recommendations and proposals for co-operation projects. At the Second Baltic Sea States Summit in Riga in January 1998 the Heads of Government took note of the findings in the report of the Expert Group and proposed that the Presidency of the CBSS organise the continued work in the field of commercial sexual exploitation of children in accordance with the report. The present report is a compilation of material gathered during the work, mainly submitted by the experts in the Expert Group and has not been subject to any linguistic harmonisation. In order to get a clearer overview of the situation in the countries concerned a questionnaire has been circulated (annexed). The time available for the work has been short. The Group is aware that the compilation does not cover the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children in the region as extensively as could be wished for.
2. THE INCIDENCE OF COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF
CHILDREN IN THE BALTIC SEA REGION
Statistical data on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children are lacking in every country in the Baltic Sea Region. The information below has been obtained partly from the experts of the Group and partly by the Swedish Special Group?s own surveys and interviews made i. a. during travels to some of the Member States. The following compilation shows some of the data which have been possible to gather during the time available and with limited resources. Even though some Member States do not have any information about the existence of commercial sexual exploitation of children, the Expert Group has information that some perpetrators come from these states.
Denmark
It is known to the Police that occasionally there are prostitutes of the age of 15 or 16 in the streets in Denmark (Danish National Police).
Estonia
About 60 % of the girls who prostitute themselves in Tallinn are between 15 and 19 years old (National Aids Prevention Centre).
Germany
It is known, that in Germany there are prostitutes under the age of 16 (mainly street children and/or drug abusers).
Latvia
The number of prostitutes is approximately 3 000, about 10-12 % of all the prostitutes in Latvia are juveniles. 30 % of all juvenile prostitutes are under the age of 16 .These are the most demanded in brothels. All prostitution in Latvia is said to be organised (National Report "Protection of the rights of women in the republic of Latvia").
Lithuania
Several social workers have confirmed that there is child prostitution at the railway station in Vilnius. Child prostitution also exists at the airport and at some hotels. The youngest girls are said to be only 11 or 12 years of age (Study made by ECPAT on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in some Eastern European Countries).
Poland
The number of children engaged in prostitution increases every year. In 1995 the number of girls 12 to 14 years of age engaged in prostitution was estimated to 100-150. The number had increased to 400 in 1996. Women and juveniles are being trafficked from Poland to the German borders. Police sources indicate that apart from occasional prostitution, the prostitution of minors working through specialised escort services is also growing (the Police Headquarters Criminal Bureau in Warsaw).
Girls and boys under the age of 18 working as prostitutes at the Polish-German border are kept like prisoners in barracks. There is a great demand for young pregnant girls (the Deaconess Institute in Helsinki in Finland, Umbrella Network).
Russia
Hundreds of children are working in the "sex business" in St Petersburg alone. Juvenile girls are being sold to different south European countries for $ 12 000 per person. There are 4909 teen age prostitutes registered in St Petersburg. Some young boys of the age of 13 or 14 are living at the Moscow railway station in St Petersburg. They are being picked up by pimps and brought to a shed where they are to provide sexual services (St Petersburg Child Protection Centre).
A new element in the sex business is now that the pimps are, as a result of a police raid in 1997, only 13 or 14 years old. The young pimps have to give a part of their income to the older imprisoned pimps (Article in VNE ZAKONA, no 3/96).
A dramatic increase in the number of children with sexually transmitted diseases have occurred in Kaliningrad (Aids Prevention Centre).
Sweden
There is no information about prostitutes under the age of 18. Almost all female prostitutes are providing sexual services in order to finance their drug addiction. There is however some information which shows that young girls, over 18 years of age, are providing sexual services, simply to get "pocket money". There is a risk that younger girls could be pulled into this kind of prostitution (National Criminal Investigation Department).
2.1 The Task Force on organised crime in the Baltic Sea Region
The Task Force has provided the Expert Group with information about the existence of child prostitution and/or child pornography in the form of organised crime in the Member States.
The majority of the Member States have informed that child prostitution and child pornography do not exist in the form of organised crime. Norway has stated that child prostitution exists to a minor extent, but there is no evidence for calling it generally speaking a form of organised crime in Norway. Poland has stated that there have been a few cases of child prostitution in the form of organised crime. Latvia has stated that there are minor prostitutes that have been sent abroad and that this trafficking might be connected with organised crime. Germany has stated that there may be some isolated attempts to organise child prostitution on a gang basis. Russia has underlined that the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children is of importance and deserves consideration at an expert level within the frameworks of the WGDI.
On the issue of child pornography the Member States indicate that offenders act on their own and are not organised. Some offenders have collected large amounts of pornographic material which they exchange.
3. LEGISLATION
Legal action in the field of commercial sexual exploitation of children is to be divided in two: changes in the laws themselves and the enforcement of the laws. The Expert Group has found that some of the Member States are lacking legislation that is coherent and has a full coverage of the issue. There are legal loopholes in the legislation which make it hard to prosecute some perpetrators. Even though legislation on commercial sexual exploitation exists in some Member States, there are problems with enforcement. In other Member States the problems are of another character. The legislation is not up to date and does not conform with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The following is a compilation of the information submitted by the Member States.
3.1 Age limits
Age of consent Other age limits in relation to protection
to sexual intercourse against sexual exploitation or sexual abuse
Denmark 15 12, 21
Estonia 14 16
Finland 16 14
Germany 14 16,18, 21
Iceland 14 16
Latvia 16
Lithuania 18 14,16
Norway 16 14, 10
Poland 15
Russia 18 16, 14
Sweden 15 18
Some of the different age limits listed in the second column are related to cases where the child is in a position of dependence, for example a pupil and a teacher. Other age limits are seen as aggravating circumstances. For more details see annex B.
3.2 Existence of special provisions regarding commercial sexual exploitation of children
Denmark
There are no special provisions against child prostitution in the Danish Criminal Code. The child is however protected by other provisions. The perpetrator can be sentenced to 6 years? imprisonment or if the child is under 12 years of age or if the perpetrator has enforced sexual intercourse by coercion or by persuasion the sentence may be up to 10 years? imprisonment. A person can be sentenced up to 4 years? imprisonment for pandering. There are no special provisions in the Criminal Code regarding the treatment of perpetrators but perpetrators can under certain circumstances be sentenced to treatment as a condition for a suspended sentence.
It is illegal to produce, distribute and possess child pornography in Denmark.
Estonia
There are special provisions against commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Criminal Code. It is illegal to persuade or mediate a minor into prostitution, to purchase or sell children and to exchange or steal a child for the purpose of revenge or personal profit or some other personal motive. The sanction for these crimes is imprisonment. There is no special rehabilitation programme for offenders of sexual crimes within the penal system.
It is illegal to possess, distribute, deliver or to put in public display issues depicting a minor in an erotic or pornographic situation. It is also illegal to deliver or to put into public display or to make accessible to underage persons issues depicting a minor in an erotic or pornographic situation. Production of child pornography is illegal as well.
Finland
There are no special provisions against prostitution or commercial sexual exploitation of children in the Penal Code. Pandering or encouraging or taking advantage of the life that a prostitute leads for personal gain is punished by imprisonment. The sanction against the perpetrator is imprisonment. There are no provisions about the treatment of the perpetrator in the Penal Code.
The chapter of the Penal Code on sexual offences is undergoing a reform and the bill is currently under discussion in the Finnish Parliament. One of the main objectives of the new provisions on sexual offences is to improve the protection of children by criminal law. The bill includes a penal provision on sexual intercourse and other sexual relationship with a child under the age of 15. The bill also includes a completely new provision, the purchase of sexual services from a child under 18 years. These offences are subject to public prosecution. A new provision penalising the possession of child pornography is also foreseen in the bill. Possession is proposed to be criminalized even in situations without intent to distribute the material. Production and distribution of child pornography are already criminalized.
Germany
There are special provisions in the Criminal Code concerning sexual offences against children, promotion of minors? sexual acts and child prostitution.
Production, distribution and possession of child pornography are illegal. In Germany , the terms "child prostitution" and "child pornography" only relate to persons under the age of 14.
A perpetrator is punished by imprisonment. Pandering and pimping are also punished by imprisonment. In cases where the execution of a sentence is suspended and the offender is placed on probation or a prisoner is released on parole, the court may issue an instruction to the offender for the term of probation, including instruction to submit himself to therapy. According to an amendment to the Criminal Code that will come into force mid-January, the offender?s consent will no longer be a prerequisite to such an instruction, provided the therapy does not include the infliction of bodily harm.
Sex offenders can also undergo therapy while serving a prison sentence, either in a regular prison or in a special institution for social therapy. The amendment mentioned above will also facilitate the confinement of a sex offender to an institution for social therapy.
According to an amendment to the Criminal Code that has come into force in January 1998, the offender?s consent is no longer a prerequisite to such an instruction, provided the therapy does not include the infliction of bodily harm.
Sex offenders can also undergo therapy while serving a prison sentence, either in a regular prison or in a special institution for social therapy. The amendment mentioned above has also facilitated the confinement of a sex offender to an institution for social therapy.
Iceland
There are special provisions against prostitution in the Icelandic Penal Code.
Prostitution is subject to a maximum prison term of two years. It is illegal to earn one?s living through promiscuity of others and to induce or coerce youths under the age of 18 to support themselves through promiscuity. It is also illegal to assist other persons in travelling to or from Iceland for the purpose of subsistence by promiscuity.
Pornography is a punishable offence under the Penal Code and producing, importing for distribution, selling, circulating or propagating pornographic publications or pictures or other such materials or putting such on public display and holding public lectures or games which are similarly indecent is punishable by fine, detention or up to six months? imprisonment. It is specified that the same penalties apply to passing pornographic publications, pornographic pictures or other similar material on to youths under the age of 18. Possession of photographs, films or similar material depicting children in a sexual or pornographic manner and possessing photographs, films or similar material depicting children performing sexual acts with animals or using objects in a pornographic manner is an offence punishable by fines.
The sanction against perpetrators is up to 14 years? imprisonment. The sanction for pandering or for being a pimp is up to 4 years? imprisonment. There is no treatment for the perpetrator within the penal system.
Latvia
There are special provisions in the Latvian Criminal Code against commercial sexual exploitation of children. These are provisions against the involvement of children in prostitution and child pornography. The child is also protected by other provisions in the Criminal Code.
Production, distribution and possession of child pornography is illegal.
The sanction for a perpetrator is imprisonment. The Criminal Code provides for treatment of the perpetrator only if the perpetrator has been diagnosed as mentally ill. The sanction for pimping and pandering is imprisonment.
Lithuania
There are both special administrative provisions and special penal provisions against the involvement of minors in prostitution. There is a very wide range of sanctions for a perpetrator. A perpetrator can be sentenced to up to 15 years? imprisonment. There is no treatment of the perpetrators within the penal system. The sanction for pandering is imprisonment.
The production and distribution of child pornography is illegal. The possession of child pornography is not legal if its aimed at selling or multiplying.
Norway
The Norwegian legislation does not contain any provisions concerning commercial sexual exploitation of children in particular. Children are protected in this respect by other provisions of the Penal Code. There are also provisions in the Broadcasting Act which prohibits transmission of pornographic material which violates Norwegian law, child pornography included.
The sanction for a perpetrator is imprisonment. The Penal Code does not provide for treatment of the perpetrator. Some prisons have established connections with treatment programs for people convicted of sexual child abuse. The same programs are also used in some units of services for prison inmates released on probation.
The sanctions for pandering or gaining financially from other people?s prostitution are described in the Penal Code. Depending on the circumstances, the maximum sentence is five or two years? imprisonment.
It is a criminal offence to possess or import pictures, films, videocassettes or the like in which a person is, must be considered to be or is presented as being under the age of 16 and is shown in an indecent or pornographic manner. Publishing, offering for sale, hiring or in any other way attempting to disseminate pornographic material is punishable. Production of child pornography within national borders will at least imply a violation of section 196 of the Penal Code.
Poland
There are special provisions against prostitution in the Criminal Code. Prostitution by adults or minors is not considered a crime or an offence. However, any other activity related to prostitution i.e. pandering and procurement are punishable irrespective of the age of the prostitute. Enticement or abduction of women and children for the purpose of prostitution is also punishable even when there is consent from the abducted person. There are other provisions in the Penal Code which aim at protecting children from sexual exploitation. The sanction for a perpetrator is imprisonment. The Penal Code does not provide for any treatment of the perpetrator but there is treatment for the perpetrators within the framework of the general rehabilitation system.
There are no special provisions concerning child pornography in the Polish Criminal Code. The general provisions concerning pornography state that production and distribution are illegal but possession is legal.
Russia
Prostitution and all activity connected to prostitution are subject to administrative measures. In 1997 it became illegal to trade in children. In July 1997 a Criminal Proceeding Code based on priority of human values came into effect with special provisions against discrimination of children and rape of minors. The punishment for pandering varies from fines to imprisonment.
Distribution and advertising of child pornographic material is illegal. It is also illegal to produce and sell child pornography in the form of printed matter, film and videocassettes. Possession of child pornography is not covered by existing legislation.
Sweden
Most penal provisions concerning sexual offences refer to offences committed against both children and adults. Child abuse, however, is generally viewed in a stricter light than the same crime committed against an adult person. The penal provisions are also intended to protect children from involvement in prostitution. It is for example illegal to purchase sexual services from a person under the age of 18.
The sanction against a perpetrator is imprisonment. Pandering and pimping are illegal.
Sexual offenders are being placed at prisons with special facilities for treatment. All condemned sexual offenders have to participate in a introduction course in order to motivate them to undergo therapeutic treatment. Such treatment is offered all offenders.
Today the production or manufacture of child pornography with the intention of spreading the material, and the spreading of child pornography are punishable offences.
In December 1997 the government introduced a bill on a constitutional amendment concerning child pornography. All handling with pictures of child pornographic characters are to be punishable. Possession, mediation, import and export of these kinds of pictures are therefor to be punishable. All child pornographic pictures - both pictures that show real child abuse and pictures made through computer technology are embraced by the prohibition. Drawings, paintings and other craftsmanlike produced pictures are not covered by the prohibition if the possessor has made them himself. A child is to be defined as a person who is aged under 18 or whose pubescence has not been completed. Today an image is deemed to be child pornography if the person pictured is not fully past the stage of puberty.
3.3 The child and court proceedings - procedural questions
Denmark
In principle the hearing of a witness shall take place directly in court during the court proceedings. However when hearing a child under the age of twelve in cases concerning sexual abuse, the courts have accepted that video recordings of the interrogation of the child during the police investigation in the presence of the defence counsellor are being shown instead of a regular hearing of the child.
Estonia
The Penal Code establishes that a minor witness, younger than 15 years of age, is to be interrogated by the judge with the participation of a teacher and/or a psychologist, in cases of need also with the participation of parents or other legal representatives. The judge decides whether or not the child has to appear before the court. It is accepted to show an hearing recorded on a video-cassette instead of bringing the child to the court room. Whether the video material has to be prepared on the basis of an hearing led by a specially trained police officer or a social worker who also mediates the question to other authorities is, however, not clearly stated.
Finland
In court proceedings the child is represented by the person responsible for his care and custody, his guardian, or if the guardian is a suspect another legal representative. The court can assign a legal counsel to the child for the pre-trial investigation and for the court proceedings. The court will decide whether a child under the age of 15 will be heard as a witness or not. In cases of sexual abuse the child is not called to witness, but the presentation of evidence is based on medical and other statements and hearing of experts. The statement of the child may be recorded on audio tape or on video cassette.
Germany
On 13 March 1997 the Federal Government entered a bill for the protection of witnesses in criminal proceedings (Protection of Witnesses Act). It provides that witnesses may be questioned with the use of audio-visual media if they cannot be cross-examined during the main proceedings. It applies most of all to witnesses who require protection, especially child victims of crime, in order to minimise the stress.
Iceland
A regulation on interrogation procedures sets out detailed provisions on the legal rights of arrested persons and police interrogation. Among other things, the regulation stipulates that during the interrogation of witnesses under the age of 18, the parents or another person enjoying the trust of the witness should be allowed to be present. A member of the child welfare committee should also be given an opportunity to be present. As regards the procedure of the interrogation, the regulation states that great consideration should be shown when interrogating children under the age of 18 and that children should be interrogated on their home turf if possible.
It is also specified that testimony shall be video-recorded or audio-recorded if possible if the witness is the victim of a sexual crime. It is specified furthermore, that repeated interrogation of children is to be avoided to the extent possible in such circumstances.
Trials in cases concerning sexual abuse are always held behind closed doors. The judge may also decide that the defendant be removed from the courtroom during the testimony of the victim or other witness. Children?s testimony on video-films is admissible in court.
Latvia
A minor who is accused is, if it is necessary, cross-examined in the presence of a pedagogue or legal representatives. If the child is a witness in a criminal case, he then gives his evidence in the presence of his parents and a children rights protection inspector. If the minor has not yet attained 16 years of age, the presence of a legal representative, a pedagogue or a psychologist is compulsory.
Lithuania
The child has to appear before the court. There are no age limits. The child should have a representative during the court hearing. The court hearings of sex crimes are often held behind closed doors.
Norway
As a principal rule, children under the age of 14 shall not have to appear in court in cases of sexual offences. Testimony from children in such cases shall be given outside the main hearing. During the judicial examination, the judge may appoint a specially qualified person to assist with the examination. This examination is videotaped or audio taped and written down to be used as evidence during the trial. Witnesses or for example the lawyer of the accused person may watch the hearing through a one-way mirror, but are not allowed to ask questions directly to the child.
Poland
If it is necessary for a minor to be heard, the hearing should be held in conditions resembling a normal situation for the child, if possible, in the minor?s place of residence. Repeated interrogation concerning the same facts or facts stated by other reliable evidence should be avoided. A psychologist with the relevant professional background should be present at the hearing. The child?s parents? presence is also allowed. A written record of the hearing is drawn up, which, however, does not constitute sufficient evidence in court. Any person, including minors, summoned to give witness in court is obligated to appear and give evidence, and to answer any question asked by either party, unless overruled by the court.
There is only one possibility to protect the child?s interest in court provided for by the Polish legal system. It is the right to request that the court gives its consent for the child to be heard in the absence of the defendant in the court room. The Polish legal system does not provide for any special treatment to be accorded to minors victims of sexual offences, or, ipso facto, for any special procedures intended to protect under-age victims of such offences.
The use of a videocassette with an interrogation of a child as evidence in court will become permitted under the new Code of Court Procedure to come into force on January, 1 1998.
Russia
There are special provisions regarding the hearing of a child during investigations. The child has the right to participate during judicial or administrative investigations. It is compulsory to take notice of and to listen to the statement of a child who have reached the age of ten.
There are special provisions regarding the summoning of a witness under the age of 16 and how to interrogate a witness under 16. It is compulsory that a legal c
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