Have your say! EU public consultation on child sexual abuse and exploitation

Dear VSE members,

The European Commission recently launched two public consultations in regard to EU legislative developments to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Commission moreover adopted a proposal for a Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse on 11 May 2022 aimed at combatting child sexual abuse online. It is also assessing whether the text of the EU Directive 2011/93 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography should be revised.

These consultations are not only an opportunity to share your national views and the situation on the ground, but it also allows to play an active role in influencing the upcoming EU legislative initiatives relating to child sexual abuse and exploitation matters. These initiatives which will ultimately influence the national legislation in all Member States and, as such, impact on your work with victims. We therefore strongly encourage you to submit an individual answer to these consultations.

Please find below a summary of the two consultations related to child sexual abuse and exploitation that are currently open for feedback:

Combating child sexual abuse – review of EU rules

Sexual abuse and exploitation of children are serious crimes, which produce life-long consequences for victims. Combating these crimes, both offline and online, is a high priority and to do so a better response is required.

As announced in the EU strategy for a more effective fight against child sexual abuse, the Commission will carry out a study to:

• assess the implementation of EU Directive 2011/93 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography
• identify legislative gaps, best practice and priority actions at EU level.

Currently, a public consultation in relation to the potential review of the Directive 2011/93/EU is open.

Deadline: 13 July 2022

Fighting child sexual abuse: detection, removal and reporting of illegal content online

Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime that has serious life-long consequences for victims. Due to the rapid expansion of the digital world, this crime has become truly global.

This initiative sets out the responsibilities of relevant online service providers, requiring them to detect and report child sexual abuse online and to report that material to public authorities.

The proposal for a regulation that was adopted on 11 May establishes a harmonised legal framework for preventing and combating online child sexual abuse, defines the role of service providers as to their responsibilities to detect, report and remove CSA materials (see the press release). The regulation also foresees in the creation of an EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse in charge of assisting national authorities in implementing their tasks under the regulation and in providing support to victims.

The Commission is now receiving feedback on this proposal for a regulation.

Deadline: 4 August 2022

If you have any questions or comments, do not hesitate to contact Annelies Blondé, Junior Policy Officer, via a.blonde@victimsupporteurope.eu.

Kind regards,
VSE Policy Team