EN    EN EN
 
EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 25.3.2009 
SEC(2009) 355  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying document to the 
 
Proposal for a 
 
COUNCIL FRAMEWORK DECISION 
 
on combating the sexual abuse , sexual expl oitation of children and child pornography, 
repealing Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA  
   
IMPACT ASSESSMENT  
{COM(2009) 135} 
{SEC(2009) 356 
 
EN 2   EN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  
Sexual abuse and sexual exploitatio n of children are pa rticularly serious forms of crime as 
they are directed against children, who have th e right to special prot ection and care. They 
produce long-term physical, psychological and so cial harm to victims and its persistence 
undermines the core values of a modern society relating to special prot ection of children and 
trust in relevant State institutions. Despite lack of accurate and reliable statistics, studies suggest that a significant minority of children in Europe may be sexually assaulted during 
their childhood, and resear ch also suggests that this phenomenon is not decreasing over time, 
rather that certain forms of sexual violence are on the rise. 
On the side of the child  victims, the main cause of this phenomenon is vulnerability resulting 
from a variety of factors. Insufficient response by law enforcement mechanisms contributes to 
the prevalence of these phenomena, and difficulties are exacerbated by the transnational dimension of certain forms of offences. Victims are reluctant to report abuse for shame or fear 
of the consequences; variations  in national criminal law and procedure may give rise to 
differences in investigation and prosecution in  various countries; convicted offenders may 
continue to be dangerous after serving th eir sentences. Developments in information 
technology have made these problems more acute  by facilitating production and distribution 
of child sexual abuse images while offering offenders anonymity. At the same time national 
legal systems need to deal with high number of actors involved, with different degrees of 
responsibility and operating in di fferent jurisdictions. Ease of travel and income differences 
fuel so-called child sex tourism, resulting of ten in child sex offenders committing offences 
abroad and enjoying impunity in practice. Beyo nd the prosecution difficulties, considerable 
profits can be made with little  risk by organised crime. 
National legislation covers some  of these problems to varying degrees. However, it is not 
strong or consistent enough to provide a vi gorous social response to this disturbing 
phenomenon. At EU level, Council Fram ework Decision 2004/68/JHA, introduces a 
minimum of approximation of Member States’ legislation to criminalise the most serious forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation, to extend domesti c jurisdiction, a nd to provide 
for a minimum of assistance to victims. Alt hough the requirements have generally been put 
into implementation, the Framework Decision has a number of shortcomings. It approximates 
legislation only on a limited number of offenc es, does not address new forms of abuse and 
exploitation using information technology, it does not remove obstacles to prosecuting 
offences outside national territory persist, the specific needs of child victims are not 
sufficiently addressed and measures to  prevent offences are inadequate. 
Ongoing initiatives in police and judicial cooperation may have so me effect in tackling such 
crime. Furthermore, a recent Council of Eu rope Convention CETS No. 201 against child 
sexual abuse has been adopted in 2007 and arguably constitutes the highest international standard for protection of children against sexual abuse and exploitation to date. 
Implementing the Convention CETS No. 201 by Memb er States would also lead to significant 
improvements. However, there is no certaint y that all Member St ates will ratify the 
Convention in the near future due to lengthy national procedures  and lack of a timescale for 
ratification. A vigorous monitoring mechanism to  ensure appropriate implementation is not 
provided for either. 
For these reasons, stakeholders argue forcefully for more ef fective, specific measures. 
 
EN 3   EN The general policy objective of the Union in this field, under Ar ticle 29 of the Treaty on the 
European Union, is to prevent and combat offe nces against children, which includes child 
sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation. Speci fic objectives to serve it would be to 
effectively prosecute the crime; to protect vict ims’ rights; to prevent child sexual exploitation 
and abuse and to establish effective monitoring systems. 
Various policy options are examined as a means to achieve the objective. 
• Policy option (1): No new EU action  
The EU would take no new acti on (legislation, non-policy instrume nts, financial support) to 
combat child sexual abuse and exploitation, while Member States may continue the process of 
signature and ratificatio n of Council of Europe Convention CETS No. 201. 
• Policy option (2): Complement existing le gislation with non-legislative measures  
Existing EU legislation, in particular Fr amework Decision 68/2004/JHA would not be 
amended. Instead, non-legislative measures coul d be put in place to support coordinated 
implementation of national legislation. This  would include exchanging information and 
experience in prosecution, protection or prev ention, awareness raising, cooperation with 
private sector and encouragement of self regulation, or  the setting up of mechanisms for data 
collection  
• Policy option (3): New legisl ation on prosecuting offenders , protecting victims, and 
preventing offences  
A new Framework Decision would be adopted, inco rporating the provisions of the existing 
Framework Decision, including certa in provisions of the Conve ntion CETS No. 201, and also 
additional elements which are not  contained in either of them . It would cover for instance 
criminalisation of serious forms of child sexua l abuse and exploitation that are currently not 
included such as, new criminal offences in the IT environment. Provisions would be introduced to assist with investigating offences  and bringing charges, rules to extend national 
jurisdiction, provisions to protect and support vi ctims in criminal proceedings, and measures 
to prevent recidivism and to disrupt access to child pornography 
• Policy option (4): New comprehensive legisl ation to enhance pros ecution of offenders, 
protection of victims and prevention of offe nces (as in Option 3)  plus non-legislative 
measures (as in Option 2)  
The existing provisions of Framework Deci sion 68/2004/JHA would be supplemented by EU 
action introducing legislative amendments to substantive criminal law and procedure, protection of the victims, and prevention of offences mentioned under Option 3. In addition, action would be undertaken through non-legisla tive measures identified under Option 2.to 
address a number of elements to improve impl ementation of national legislation in criminal 
matters resulting from the amendments, and to pr ovide for tools of investigation, prosecution, 
protection as well as prevention in sectors outside criminal law. 
Option 1 (status quo) may provide substantial imp rovement if Member States sign, ratify and 
implement Convention CETS No. 201, as they  seem willing to do. However, the lengthy 
national ratification procedures in the absence of an EU legally binding framework and the 
lack of a vigorous monitoring mechanism make  uncertain when and to what extent the 
 
EN 4   EN benefits of that Convention will put into practice. Option 2 woul d enhance the effectiveness in 
the implementation of the existing legal framew ork, but it would be insufficient to improve 
prosecution in a number of areas where a specific legal basis is required. 
Option 3 would improve matters in comparison to  the current situation.  It would strengthen 
legislation in the areas covered by the current EU legislation on prosecution of the offenders 
and protection of child victims. It would also  address preventive measures, thus improving the 
protection of children in general.  The financial cost is expected to be outweighed by the social 
and economic benefit of more efficient acti on against this crime. Fundamental rights 
improvements would also overweight the risk s for interferences of certain measures. 
Option 4 would multiply the effectiveness of th e measures in option 2 and 3 by combining 
them and encouraging Member States to coope rate on setting up tools and acting to improve 
the implementation of the more comprehens ive legal framework been put in place. 
Following the analysis of economic impact, so cial impacts, and impacts on fundamental 
rights, Options 3 and 4 represent the best approa ch to the problems and achieve the objectives 
of the proposal. The preferred option would be option 4, followed by option 3. 
1. PROCEDURAL ISSUES AND CONSULTATION OF INTERESTED PARTIES  
1.1. Background and policy context 
1.1.1.  Policy context 
The Commission’s Work Programme for 20091 includes a proposal to  raise the level of 
protection for children granted by Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA2 against sexual 
abuse, in particular sexual exploitation and child pornography. Together with a proposal to 
revise Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA on comb ating trafficking in human beings, this 
will be part of an organised crime package. 
The main underlying problems addressed by Framework Decision 20 04/68/JHA were the 
serious criminal offences of sexual expl oitation of children and child pornography. On 
16 November 2007, the Commission adopted a re port on its implementation which, in brief, 
stated that Member States appeared largely to have met the requirements set out in the 
Decision, but that there was still a need for more action in certain  areas, in particular on IT-
related developments such as ‘grooming’ thr ough the Internet, and for new methods to detect 
these crimes (see sectio n 2.5 for more details). 
EU Member States have an international obl igation, mainly under the UN Convention on the 
Rights of the Child, to protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. 
The recent Council of Europe Convention on the protection of children against sexual 
exploitation and sexual abuse CETS No. 2013 (referred to as 'the CoE Convention' or 'the 
                                                 
1 COM(2008) 712. 
2 Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA of 22 Decem ber 2003 on combating the sexual exploitation 
of children and child pornography, OJ L 13, 20.1.2004, p.44. 
3 Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual 
Abuse, CETS No 201, opened for signature on 25 October 2007. 
 
EN 5   EN Convention') is regarded by e xperts as the highest  international standard to date. The 
importance of further action on child protec tion was underlined in the Hague Programme4. 
1.1.2.  Organisation and timing 
The IA was drafted in the sec ond half of 2008, but is also based on previous informal 
consultations with, in particul ar, Member States’ experts. An Inter-service Steering Group 
was set up, including DG EAC, EMPL, RELEX, IN FSO, DEV and AIDCO, in addition to the 
SG and LS. The Steering Group met on 26 September and 1 December 2008. 
1.1.3.  Consultation and expertise 
Three formal consultative meetings were carri ed out. The Group of Experts on trafficking in 
human beings met on 2-3 October 2008,5 and after extensive discussion issued a written 
opinion on trafficking also cove ring certain aspects of  the fight against child exploitation and 
child pornography. A consultative meeting with experts from different background including 
governments, law enforcement agencies, NGOs, in ternational organisations and universities 
invited in a personal capacity was held on 7 October 2008. Following the meeting, several 
experts submitted written comments. A meeting with Member States’ representatives was held on 17 October 2008. 
The Commission’s general princi ples on consultations were br oadly followed. A wide range 
of stakeholders took part in de tailed discussions on the legislative plans well before these 
plans were finalised.  
A summary of the views of stakeholders  is presented in Section 2 below. 
In spite of the wide consultation, data coll ection has proved to be highly problematic, for 
reasons explained in section 2.3. 
1.2 The impact assessment board (IAB) 
The Commission’s IAB was cons ulted on 12 December 2008 and delivered its Opinion on 14 
January 2009. The IAB considered that the re port provided good bac kground information on 
the issue and how it has develo ped in recent years. The IAB recommended that the report be 
significantly improved in a number of areas: the baseline scenario needed to be strengthened, 
measures listed in the policy options shoul d be further developed, and the report should 
clarify how costly these measures would be for national authorities. 
                                                
 
4 Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - The Hague 
Programme: Ten priorities for the next five years The Partnership for European renewal in the field of 
Freedom, Security and Justice, 10.5.2005, COM (2005) 184 final 
5 Commission Decision of 17 October 2007 setting up the Group of Experts on Trafficking in Human 
Beings (2007/675/EC), OJ L 277, 20.10.2007; Commission Decision of 22 July 2008 on the 
appointment of members of the Group of Experts on Trafficking in Human Beings (2008/604/EC), OJ 
L 194, 23.7.2008. 
 
EN 6   EN 2. PROBLEM DEFINITION  
2.1. What is the problem? 
Whereas a ‘child’ is consistently defined in international instruments as any person below the 
age of 18 years6, ‘sexual exploitation’ a nd ‘sexual abuse of childre n’ are terms used to 
designate different forms of behaviour7 related to sexual relations with a child in the absence 
of free will or under a certain age, chil d prostitution, child pornography, corruption of 
children or solicitation for sexual purposes. Th ese phenomena may be interlinked to different 
degrees. For instance, ‘child pornog raphy’ is in reality images of  child sexual abuse; the term 
plays down the seriousness of the offence. Furt hermore, a recent study showed that 40% of 
arrested persons in possession of child pornography sexually vic timised children too.8 All 
behaviours described above as sexual expl oitation and sexual abuse of children are 
particularly serious forms of crime as they are directed against children, who have the right to 
special protection and care. 
2.2. Who is affected and how? 
First of all, child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation. They suffer not only specific short- 
and long-term physical and psychological health consequences but the social consequences of 
the crime to which they have been subjected, depending on thei r age and resilience and the 
environment in which they have been brought up.9 
Officials and professionals likely to come in contact with potential and presumed victims, and 
with offenders, are also affected. Child sexu al abuse and exploitatio n involves significant 
intervention and corresponding cost s for the health se ctor (treating vic tims for short- and 
long-term medical harm), for social support stru ctures and services, and for the judiciary and 
law enforcement system (dealing with inve stigation, prosecution and sanctions against 
offences). 
The issue also affects society at large: unpuni shed sexual abuse agai nst children undermines 
the core values of a modern society relating to special protection of children. Furthermore, it 
breeds a sense of insecurity and fear, undermining trust in relevant state institutions, as shown 
by the fall-out from the Du troux affair in the 1990s. 
2.3. The size of the problem 
While there is no doubt that the sexual abuse and exploitation of children is a serious problem, 
there is a lack of accurate and reliable sta tistics on the nature of the phenomenon and the 
numbers of children involved, because of differe nces in national definitions of various child 
sexual abuse and exploitation offences, very  significant underreporting by victims, and 
                                                 
6 CETS 201, Article 3; Convention on the Rights of  the Child, Article 1; FD 2004/68/JHA, Article 1. 
7 CETS 201, Article 18 to 23. 
8 Wolak, J., et al., Child pornography possessors arrest ed in Internet-related crimes , 2005, quoted in 
Child Pornography: Model legislation and global review , International Centre for Missing and 
Exploited Children, 2007. 
9 This includes post-traumatic stress disorder, depression or anxiety, engaging in sexual and health risk 
behaviour, sexually transmitted disease, intimate partner violence and poor academic performance. See 
May-Chahal, C., and Herczog, M., Child sexual abuse in Europe , 2003; Johnson, R.J., ‘Advances in 
understanding and treating childhood sexual abuse: Implications for research and policy’, Family & 
Community Health, supplement to Vol. 31, (1S), S24-S31. 
 
EN 7   EN inadequate data collection mech anisms. Studies suggest that a significant minority of children 
in Europe, between 10% and 20 % as an informed scientific estimate, will be sexually 
assaulted duri ng their childhood10. 
Research also suggests that this phenomenon is not decreasing over time, rather that certain 
forms of sexual violence (such as abuse of t eenagers) are on the rise. Child victims portrayed 
in pornography are getting younger, and the imag es are becoming more graphic and more 
violent.11 
2.4. The underlying drivers of the problem  
On the side of the child victims, the main driv er is vulnerability resu lting from a variety of 
factors. 
Major factors are gender  (the risk is three times higher for girls than boys); age (pre-
adolescent children are at higher risk) and disability (disabled children face additional risks of 
sexual abuse)12. In turn, different causes appear to be at the root of that situation. 
Poverty and social exclusion may also set children at risk  of falling prey to sexual 
exploitation. The danger is even more impo rtant given the high profits that sexual 
exploitation, including ch ild pornography, can generate. 
Lack of a properly-functioning social support network  plays an important role. This also 
covers the family situation. Children in an envi ronment of family violen ce are also at higher 
risk of suffering social violence. 
There is no clear profile of the offender . Although the percentage of former victims among 
offenders is higher than in the general populat ion, the majority of victims do not go on to 
become offenders, and most of the offenders  have not been victims. Preconditions for 
committing child sexual abuse are emotional congruence, sexual arousal, overcoming internal and external inhibitions, and overcoming the resist ance of the child. Factors such as the nature 
of previous offending, sexual preferences and a failure to complete treatment have been 
identified as increasing the risk of reoffending. 
Insufficient response by law enforcement mechan isms contributes to the prevalence of these 
phenomena; difficulties are exacerbated by the transnational dimension of certain forms of 
offences. 
Victims are reluctant to report abuse  for shame or fear of the consequences, particularly 
where the abuse happens within the family, an d professionals in cont act with them do not 
always have the tools to identif y victims. As a result, three out  of four incidents of sexual 
abuse are estimated to go unreported.
13 
Certain behaviours are not considered a crimin al offence everywhere, and variations in 
criminal law and procedure may give rise to differences in investigation and prosecution  in 
                                                 
10 May-Chahal & He rczog, op. cit. 
11 International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, op. cit. 
12 Bolen, RM (1998) "Predicting the risk of being sexually abused"; Sullivan and Knutson (2002) 
"Maltreatment and disabilities: a popul ation-based epidemiological study ". Studies referenced in May-
Chahal and Herczog, op. cit. 
13 Johnson, op. cit. 
 
EN 8   EN different countries . For example, undercover operations wh ere the police infiltrate criminal 
circles are forbidden by law in some Member St ates, or are subject to different conditions. In 
some jurisdictions, viewing child pornography  without storing file s does not amount to 
‘possession’ and no prosecution is possible. Some  Member States require a victim of child 
abuse committed abroad to file a complaint with the home authorities. The conditions for granting child offenders access to intervention programmes also vary, with some Member 
States providing for it only in cases where the pe nalties are below a certain threshold or where 
the offender’s capacity is affected by cogni tive or intellectual disorders. Aggravating 
circumstances may apply only to certain crimes  whose definition varies from country to 
country and cover different behaviours. Ta king into account the principle of strict 
interpretation of criminal law, and as outlined in the Explanatory Report to the CoE Convention regarding the advantag es of harmonising criminal offences, this situation may 
favour certain acts in Member States where the law is more lenient, make the collection of 
comparable data and experience more difficu lt, and obstruct international cooperation (in 
particular extradition and mutual legal assistance).
14 
Convicted offenders may continue to be dangerous after serving their sentences . It is 
estimated that some 20% of sex offenders on average (with big differe nces between different 
profiles of offenders)15 go on to commit new offences afte r conviction. Additional measures 
to reduce the risk of their reoffending (such as exclusion from certain activities involving 
contact with children, or monito ring) are not always taken, and are difficult to implement if 
they leave the country.16 
Developments in and the spread of information technology have made these problems more 
acute. Images of child abuse can be easily produ ced and distributed, sold  and accessed widely 
at virtually no cost, giving new economic incen tives to abusers. Cyberspace also provides 
offenders with new opportunities to find, approach and manipulat e children under the cover of 
anonymity. At the same time, national legal syst ems find it difficult to respond because of the 
number of actors (users, publishers of website s, internet service providers, and telecom 
companies) involved in producing and dissemina ting the information, with different degrees 
of responsibility and operating in different juri sdictions. According to some stakeholders, the 
number of such websites located  in the EU seems to have fallen following law enforcement 
action in cooperation with Internet providers an d hotlines to report abuse. However, access to 
and the distribution and sale of child pornography continues in the EU through websites located outside Europe, in countries where the cooperation of national au thorities is difficult 
to obtain. 
Ease of travel and income differences fuel so-called child sex tourism . The application of 
certain rules on criminal jurisdiction often results in child sex offenders committing offences abroad and enjoying impunity in practice. 
                                                
 
14 See the Explanatory Report to CETS 201, para. 112. 
15 Redondo, S., ‘Sirve el tratamiento para rehabilitar a los delincuentes sexuales?’ in Revista Española de 
Investigación Criminológica , No 4, 2006. 
16 This is illustrated by a number of tr agic cases in recent years, an in par ticular by that of Mr Fourniret in 
2004. A French citizen, he had previous convictions for a series of murders and sexual assaults against 
children before moving to Belgium. As the Belg ian authorities were not aware of these previous 
convictions, he was able to start working in a school.  He was then able to use this position to commit 
further murders and sexual assaults against childre n (source: NSPCC (2007) "Protecting children from 
sexual abuse in Europe: safer recruitmen t of workers in a border-free Europe"). 
 
EN 9   EN Beyond the prosecution difficulties referred to above, considerable profits can be made 
with little risk by organised crime groups i nvolved in the trade in ch ild pornography or even 
in children to be abused. Stakeholders estim ate that child pornography is a multimillion-dollar 
business worldwide. 
2.5. Weaknesses in the current legal framework and policy 
National legislation covers some  of these problems to varying degrees. However, it is not 
strong or consistent enough to provide a vi gorous social response to this disturbing 
phenomenon.  
The European Union’s most relevant response17, Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA, 
introduces a minimum of approximation of Member States’ legislation to criminalise the most 
serious forms of child sexual abuse and exploita tion, to extend domestic jurisdiction, and to 
provide for a minimum of assistance to victims. 
This legal framework is in the early stages of development, and a number of shortcomings 
have been identified: 
• it approximates legislation on only a limited number of offences; 
• it does not address new forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation predominantly using 
information technology, such as groomi ng or viewing child pornography on the web 
without downloading it; 
• rules on jurisdiction do not completely remove obstacles to prosecuting offences outside 
national territory, as in the case of child sex tourism; 
• the specific needs of child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation have not been met; 
• measures to prevent offences are inadequate. 
The 2007 Commission report on the implementati on of the Framework Decision concluded 
that, while information from Member States was incomplete, the requirements set had generally been met. However, the Commission st ressed the importance of strengthening social 
protection and ensuring full respect  for the rights of child victim s, and suggested updating and 
further strengthening the Framework Decision, in particular regarding offences committed 
using IT. 
Other EU initiatives in force or under way par tially address some problems which also affect 
child sexual offences. The Framework D ecision on the European arrest warrant
18 eliminates 
the double criminality requirement for sexual ex ploitation of children and child pornography, 
but does so only between Member States, above a certain penalty threshold, and only for the 
purpose of surrendering offenders, not to establish jurisdiction for offences committed outside 
                                                 
17 Other instruments include Council Joint Action 97/154/JHA of 24 February 1997 concerning action to 
combat trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation of children, OJ L 63, 4.3.1997, p. 2; 
Council Decision 2000/375/JHA of 29 May 2000 to combat child pornography on the Internet, OJ L 138, 9.6.2000, p. 1. 
18 Council Framework Decision 2002/584/JHA of 13 June 2002 on the European arrest warrant and the 
surrender procedures between Member States. 
 
EN 10   EN the country. The future Framework Decision  on exchanging information extracted from 
criminal records19 and the ECRIS Decision20 will facilitate elect ronic interconnection of 
criminal records, where information on convic tions is exchanged between Member States 
speedily, in a uniform and easily computer-t ransferable way. However, the Framework 
Decisions makes it possible to limit the excha nge of information fo r purposes other than 
criminal proceedings (for example, for cont rolling access to profe ssions involving contacts 
with children) and contains no obligation on Member States to include in their national 
systems information on prohibitions on offenders fr om certain activities or to recognize such 
prohibitions imposed by other Member States.  The Council Framework Decision on the 
application of the princi ple of mutual recognition to alternative sanctions21 is a first step in 
this direction; however, it does not cover profe ssional disqualifications either, in particular 
disqualification arising from cr iminal convictions and prohibit ion from working or activity 
with minors. The Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA22 on attacks against information 
systems addresses certain forms of cybercrime, such as illegal access to information systems, 
illegal system interference and illegal data in terference, but does not deal with illegal web 
content. The Safer Internet programme23 contains a number of far-reaching actions, which are 
also very relevant in the fi ght against child pornography. Howe ver, these measures are of non-
legislative nature. 
The recent Council of Europe Convention CETS  No. 201 against child sexual abuse (see 
section 1.1.1) arguably constitutes the highest inte rnational standard for protection of children 
against sexual abuse and exploitation to date . It provides a comprehensive and coherent 
framework covering prevention, coordination of di fferent actors, protecti on and assistance to 
victims, comprehensive criminalisation of vari ous forms of abuse and exploitation, rules and 
instruments to facilitate inve stigation, prosecution, and procedural law. Implementing such 
measures would lead to significant improvement s. However, Member States may decide not 
to sign or ratify the Convention; even if they  do, ratification may take a very long time; and 
even if they ratify, the traditional intergovernmental m onitoring mechanism would not ensure 
appropriate implementation. 
On a global scale, the main international standard is set by the Optional Protocol to the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sa le of children, child prostitution and child 
pornography of 2000. However, not all Member St ates have yet acceded to this Treaty. 
2.6. Main issues to be addressed 
Given the current extent of this crime, and th e general view among stakeholders that the legal 
framework is inadequate to tack le it, the specific problems to be addressed can be summarised 
as follows. 
                                                 
19 COM(2005)690; general approach agreed by the JHA Council of 12-13 June 2007, expected to be 
adopted early in 2009. 
20 COM(2008)332; politically agreed by  the JHA Council on 24 October 2008, expected to be adopted at 
the beginning of 2009. 
21 The Council Framework Decision on the applicatio n of the principle of mutual recognition of 
judgments and probation decisions with a view to the supervision of probation measures and alternative 
sanctions which was adopted in November 2008. [Ref? OJ?] 
22 Council Framework Decision 2005/222/JHA of 24 February 2005 on attacks against information 
systems, OJ L 69, 16.3.2005, p. 67. 
23 See section 3.2 of the Impact Assessment 
 
EN 11   EN 1. Failure to convict criminals  
a. Insufficient approximation of relevant cr iminal law provisions in Member States  
b. Child victims are reluctant to report the abuse because of trauma or their young age, a 
sense of shame or fear of the repercussions. 
c. Insufficient international cooperation and poor use of effective investigation tools. 
2. Insufficient protection a nd assistance to victims 
a. Assistance measures respondi ng to the special needs of ch ild victims are not in place 
or are insufficient in many Member States; 
b. It may be difficult in practice for child vi ctims to participate in legal proceedings 
because of the risk of secondary trauma (revivi ng the abuse experience), or economic or legal 
constraints. 
c Child victims of sexual exploitation may face sanctions for violations of legal 
provisions (such as immigration la w or laws on prostitution) beca use of the situation in which 
they were exploited.24 
3. Insufficient measures to prevent child sexual abuse and exploitation  
a. Some convicted offenders may continue to be dangerous after serving their 
sentences , and recidivism is a reality. Additional measures to reduce the risk of their 
reoffending are not always take n, and are difficult to implement if they leave the country. 
b. Preventing access to and dissemination of child pornography is difficult where the 
websites are hosted in a third country. 
4. Lack of data on and knowledge of the magnit ude of the crime and the effectiveness of 
policy measures to fight child sexual abuse and exploitation in Member States  
2.7. How would the problem evolve, all things being equal?  
Due to the current magnitude of the crime, the difficulties in fighting it, the high profitability 
of such criminal activities, and the highlighted  weaknesses of existing pol icies, an increase in 
the crime rate can be expected despite the e fforts made in recent years, including the 2004 
Framework Decision. In fact, sw ift and constant development and accessibility of new IT 
techniques and Internet make it likely that  the phenomenon will grow in the future. 
                                                 
24 Sexually exploited children are often victims of tr afficking, although this may be difficult to prove. 
According to UNICEF (Child Trafficking in Europe, 2008, p.25) ‘ many trafficked children are not 
identified as victims, especially in those countries that adopt a narrow definition of trafficking. Even 
when children are identified as victims of trafficking, their cases are still not always recognised as 
such. Cases that are brought to court may be tried under other, related legislation, such as laws on sexual exploitation and abuse, migration and asylum, or labour regulations. [...] In consequence, and 
far too often, victims of trafficking, both children and adults, are treated as illegal migrants, or as 
individuals who are criminally complicit in their own exploitation.’  
 
EN 12   EN Ongoing initiatives in police and judicial cooperation (such as those outlined above) may have 
some effect in tackling such crime. Impl ementing the provisions of Council of Europe 
Convention CETS No. 201 would also lead to significant improvements. 
However, there is no certainty that all Member States will ratify the Convention in the near 
future. There is neither timescale for ratification, nor a vigorous monitoring mechanism to ensure appropriate implementation. 
For these reasons, stakeholders argue forcefully for more ef fective, specific measures. 
2.8. Right to act, subsidiarity and fundamental rights 
Under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union, the Union’s objective is to provide 
citizens with a high level of safety. This obj ective is to be achiev ed, in particular, by 
preventing and combating offences against children. 
The EU should take action in th is field only if and in so fa r as this objective cannot be 
sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can be better achie ved by the Union. As 
stated above, child sexual expl oitation and abuse has a consider able cross-border dimension, 
which is most evident in child pornography and child sex tourism, but also appears in the need 
to ensure that children in al l Member States should be protected from offenders from all 
Member States, who can travel easily. This requires EU action, notably to follow up on 
Council Framework Decision 2004/68/ JHA and Council Decision 2000/375/JHA,
25 as the 
objective of effectively protecting children by  preventing and combating offences against 
them cannot be sufficiently ach ieved by Member States alone. 
Any such EU action must respect fundamental ri ghts and observe the prin ciples recognised in 
particular by the Charter of Fundamental Right s of the European Uni on (EU Charter) and the 
Convention for the Protection of Human Right s and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), notably 
human dignity, the rights of the child, the pr ohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading 
treatment or punishment, the right to liberty and security, respect for private and family life, 
protection of personal data, non-discrimination, and the special procedur al rights set out in 
Articles 47 to 50 of the EU Charter (Articles 6, 7 and 13 of the ECHR). Member States, when 
implementing EU law, must do so in accord ance with these rights and principles.  
The EU Charter is of particular relevance to this Impact Assessment. Article 24 lays down a 
positive obligation to act with th e aim of ensuring the necessary  protection of children. It 
states that children shall have the right to su ch protection and care as is necessary for their 
wellbeing. In addition, it requires that in all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, th e child’s best interests must be a primary 
consideration. In addition, as regards Articles 1 and 3 of the ECHR, the European Court of Human Rights has held that Cont racting States are required to take measures to ensure that 
individuals within their jurisdiction are not su bjected to ill-treatment , including ill-treatment 
by private individuals.
26 
                                                 
25 Council Decision of 29 May 2000 to combat child pornography on the Internet, OJ L 138, 9.6.2000, p. 
1. 
26 ECtHR, M.C. v. Bulgaria, para. 149. 
 
EN 13   EN 2.9. Views of consulted stakeholders 
A broad range of experts in the field were cons ulted in three different meetings dealing both 
with child sexual abuse and se xual exploitation, and traffick ing in human beings. This 
included, in particular, the following categorie s of stakeholders we re invited to the 
consultation: 
– Representatives of Member States' Governments. 
– Members of the Commission's Group of Experts on Trafficking in Human beings, selected 
from Government bodies, NGOs and academia. 
– International organisations: Council of Europe, ICMPD, ILO, IOM, ODIHR, UNICEF, 
UNHCR, UNOCD. 
– NGOs: Amnesty International, CATW, CCME, Centre pour l'ég alité des chances, ECPAT, 
Fondation Roi Baudoin, La Strada , Missing Children, NSPCC, On  the Road, Pag-asa, Save 
the Children, TAMPEP, Terre  des Hommes, Women Lobby. 
– Academia and research centres : Brottsförebyggande rådet, I nnocenti Center of UNICEF, 
Transcrime, University of Kiel. 
– Public institutions: Carabinieri, CEOP, Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking, 
Europol, Eurojust. 
– A number of experts and organisations have subseque ntly sent in submissions and 
provided information: NSPCC, INHOPE, Mi ssing Children Europe, Save the Children, 
EuroISPA, and UNICEF. 
The consultation revealed widespread agreemen t on the need to substantially improve the 
level of protection to childre n granted by the EU framework, to take account of technical 
developments and trends, and to align it with th e highest international st andards. This is also 
necessary to ensure that Member States will be in a position to comply with  their international 
obligations, in particul ar with regard to Council of Eur ope Convention CETS No. 201, which 
sets a high and advanced level of protection. 
Key messages resulting from the consultation are: – the need to incorporate improvements of the Council of Europe Convention; 
– the need to criminalise forms of abuse not incl uded in the current FD, in  particular offences 
using IT; 
– the need to eliminate obstacles to investiga tion and prosecution in cross-border cases; 
– the need to ensure comprehensiv e protection of victims, in pa rticular in investigation and 
criminal proceedings; 
– the need to prevent offences through intervention programmes and treatment; 
– the need to ensure that convictions and secu rity measures imposed on dangerous offenders 
in one country are effective in all Member States. 
 
EN 14   EN The input received during the consultation ha s been taken into account in the Impact 
Assessment. Some of the proposals made by differ ent stakeholders in th e consultation process 
have not been included in the policy options, for the reasons e xplained in section 4.3 (policy 
Option 3). 
3. OBJECTIVES  
3.1. General, specific and operational objectives 
The general policy objective  of the Union in this field, under  Article 29 of the Treaty on the 
European Union, is to prevent and combat offe nces against children , which includes child 
sexual abuse and child sexual ex ploitation. This should be done by building a more coherent 
framework for combating these crimes within the third pillar and by increasing its effectiveness. 
In view of the problems described, this genera l objective could be serv ed by action aimed at 
achieving the following specific and operational objectives . 
A. Specific objective: to ef fectively prosecute the crime
 
Operational objectives:  
A.1 To impose effective, proportionat e and dissuasive criminal penalties  on offenders 
who commit child sexual abuse or  exploitation. This is especially important with regard to 
activities which currently are not criminalised at  all, or are not criminalised consistently 
throughout the EU, including new forms of ch ild sexual abuse or exploitation committed 
using information technology. 
A.2 To facilitate the investigation of offe nces and the initiation of criminal 
proceedings , especially in the absence of reporting or a complaint by the child victim at the 
time of the abuse. 
A.3 To effectively prosecute abuse or exploitation committed abroad, thus ensuring 
that international travel is not  an obstacle to fighting child sexual abuse and exploitation. 
A.4 To remove obstacles to in ternational cooperation  and to foster the use of 
investigative tools which are effective in  organised crime and transnational cases. 
B. Specific objective: to  protect victims’ rights  
Operational objectives:  
B.1 To facilitate access by victims  to legal remedies and appr opriate specialist protection 
measures. 
B.2 To ensure that victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation suffer no harm  from 
participating in criminal i nvestigations and proceedings. 
 
EN 15   EN C Specific objective: to prevent ch ild sexual exploitation and abuse  
Operational objectives:  
C.1 To promote access to intervention programmes and measures  as a means to prevent 
repeated and first-time offences against children. 
C.2 To ensure that appropriate security measures  are taken with regard to child sex 
offenders who continue to be dangerous after their release, and that they are effectively 
implemented  throughout the EU. 
C.3 To technically prevent or make it more difficult to access and disseminate child 
pornography, especially on the internet.  
D. Specific objective: to estab lish effective monitoring systems  
Operational objective:  
D.1 To create harmonised national mechanisms to measure the extent of such crime  and 
to monitor the effectiveness of policy  to fight child sexual abuse and exploitation. 
3.2. Consistency of the objectives with oth er EU policies and horizontal objectives 
The objectives are fully consistent with the EU  policy of promotion, protection and fulfilment 
of children’s rights in the internal and exte rnal policies of the EU. The EU explicitly 
recognised protection of childre n’s rights in the European Ch arter of Fundamental Rights, 
specifically in Article 24. Furt hermore, in it s communication Towards an EU Strategy on the 
Rights of the Child , the Commission set itself the objec tive of maximising the use of its 
existing policies and instruments partly with a vi ew to protecting children from violence and 
sexual exploitation inside and outside the EU. 
They are also consistent with  the Safer Internet Programme27 set up to promote safer use of 
the Internet and new onlin e technologies, particularly for chil dren, and to fight against illegal 
content. They complement the fort hcoming Safer Internet Programme 2009–2013,28 which 
will include action: (1) to reduce the amount of  illegal content circul ating online and deal 
adequately with harmful conduc t online, mainly online distri bution of child sexual abuse 
material, (2) to promote a safer online enviro nment by bringing stakeholders together and 
enhancing both cooperation between them and ac tion by them, (3) to ensure and increase 
awareness, in particular among children, parent s, carers and educators,  of opportunities and 
risks relating to the use of on line technologies and means of staying safe online, (4) to 
establish a knowledge base for dealing adequate ly with existing and emerging uses of the 
online environment and relevant risks and cons equences, and (5) to enhance international 
cooperation. 
                                                 
27 Decision No 854/2005/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2005, OJ L 149, 
11.06.2005, p.1. 
28 Proposal for a Decision of the European Parlia ment and of the Council establishing a multiannual 
Community programme on protecting children using the Internet and other communication 
technologies, 27.2.2008, COM(2008)106 final. 
 
EN 16   EN 4. POLICY OPTIONS  
4.1. Policy option (1) No new EU action 
The EU would take no new acti on (legislation, non-policy instrume nts, financial support) to 
combat child sexual abuse and exploitation. 
Under this policy option, Member States ma y continue the process of signature and 
ratification of Council of Europe Conventi on CETS No. 201. Shortly over one year after 
being adopted, the Convention has been signe d by 32 Parties, including 20 EU Member 
States29, and it can be expected that others wi ll follow. The Commission would encourage 
Member States to ratify, as it cu rrently does in different contexts. 
Ratification by Member States would lead to significant improvements. They would derive 
from the Convention's innovativ e content and its broad exte nt of measures covering 
prevention, coordination of different actors , protection and assist ance to victims, 
comprehensive criminalisation of various forms of abuse and exploitation, rules and 
instruments to facilitate investigatio n, prosecution, and procedural law. 
It should be noted, though, that ratification of the Convention requires Pa rties to have already 
put in place all necessary measures so that they may implement its obligations from the moment they ratify. This includes introduci ng the necessary legislation and setting up the 
administrative mechanisms required. As a resu lt, the ratification of the Convention by EU 
Member States is a process that may go on for a long and uncertain peri od of time, depending 
on how long it takes each of the i ndividual Member States to adopt  those measures. It has to 
be noted also that the degree of what is c onsidered sufficient implementation required for 
ratification may vary in practice from  one signatory State to another one.  
The Convention is in principle open to signatu re by the European Community. However, at 
the current stage of developm ent of community law, the matters covered by the Convention 
fall primarily outside of the competences of the European Communit y, as matters under the 
EU's third pillar (Title VI of the Treaty on the European Union). Therefore, ratification by the European Community is at present not possible.  Should this be possibl e in the future (for 
instance because the European Union acquires le gal personality), this would still require 
adoption of EU legislation to comply with th e international obligations arising from the 
Convention. As this would mean positive EU action, for methodological reasons it cannot be 
considered in the baseline scenario  under Option 1 ("no new EU action").  
4.2. Policy option (2) Complement existing  legislation with non-legislative 
measures 
Existing EU legislation, in particular Fr amework Decision 68/2004/JHA would not be 
amended, so Member States would not be obliged  to amend their criminal law on child sexual 
abuse and exploitation. Instead , non-legislative measures coul d be put in place to support 
coordinated implementation of na tional legislation. The EU woul d not prescribe how to carry 
out this, in recognition of the f act that each MS would need to select the most appropriate 
approach to implementation for its own partic ular situation. However the EU would provide 
                                                
 
29 Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cy prus, Denmark, Estonia,  Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, 
Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Sweden, United Kingdom. 
 
EN 17   EN examples of what Member States have done by  way of best practice. The following measures 
would be included: 
• exchanging information on and experience of  prosecuting offences: on forms of abuse 
which are difficult to combat, new forms of abuse involving cybers pace and IT; the fight 
against sexual abuse and exploi tation occurring outside Member  States but involving their 
nationals or permanent residents as offenders; 
• setting up joint investigative teams and judici al coordination to investigate and prosecute 
child pornography cases involving a number of Member States; 
• exchanging experience among authorities on the implementation of Council Decision 
2008/615/JHA30 to DNA files opened and kept for the investigation of child sexual abuse 
offences 
• exchanging information and experience relating to  protection of the victims, in particular 
to avoid re-victimisation thr ough their participation in i nvestigations and judicial 
proceedings; 
• ensuring coordination between different actors  involved in child protection (education and 
health, social services, law enforcement a nd the judiciary) and setting up independent 
institutions to promote and protect children’s rights 
• exchanging information and experience on meas ures other than criminal sentences to 
protect victims in the best interests of the child, to protect their privacy, and to ensure 
short-, medium- and long-term support for vi ctims, including through special funds using 
the proceeds of these offences. 
• exchanging information on and experience of preventing offences, in particular 
intervention programmes and measures, and secu rity measures against offenders (such as 
disqualification arising from cr iminal convictions, prohibiti on from working or activity 
with minors). 
• training and awareness raising for children and t hose in regular contact with them, so that 
they know enough to recognise and report sexual abuse, and for public officials to conduct 
proceedings in a child-friendly way. 
• cooperating with the private sector (in pa rticular the information and communication 
technology, tourism and travel, ba nking and finance industries) and with civil society to 
develop and implement policies to preven t sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of 
children. 
• encouraging self-regulation of Internet Se rvice Providers to c ooperate with public 
authorities and block access to webpages c ontaining or dissemina ting child pornography. 
• setting up mechanisms for data collection or  focal points to observe and evaluate the 
phenomenon of child sexua l abuse and exploitation. 
These non-legislative measures ha ve been identified in consu ltation with stakeholders. Some 
of them seek, through exchange of information and experience, to explore new ways for more 
effective action on the triple front of pros ecution, protection and prevention, and focus on 
                                                 
30 Council Decision 2008/615/JHA of 23 June 2008 on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, 
particularly in combating terrorism and cross-border crime, OJ L 210, 6.8.2008, p.1. 
 
EN 18   EN especially difficult areas identified in national practice, such as IT offences, cross-border 
crimes, secondary victimisation or recidivism of convicted offenders. 
Others have been identified by Member Stat es as useful elements for the effective 
implementation of legislation, and as such have been introduced in Council of Europe 
Convention CETS No. 201, in part icular concerning collection a nd exchange of data, training 
and cooperation with the private sector. The EU would thus serve as a facilitator to promote 
cooperation, exchange of best practices, a nd policy coordination among Member States, to 
promote ratification of the Convention, and cont ribute to compliance wi th the international 
obligations resulting from it in a consis tent way. The EU would even go beyond the 
Convention by providing a consolidated le gal framework (Council Decision 2008/615/JHA) 
for the collection and exchange of  personal data of convicted pe rsons, as envisaged in Article 
37 of the Convention.  
• In the case of blocking of Internet pages through self-regulation by Internet Service 
Providers, this is a measure that is alrea dy in place in certain Member States (United 
Kingdom, Sweden). EU action would seek to encourage generalisation of voluntary 
agreements of Internet Providers drawing on that experience. 
4.3. Policy option (3) New legislation on pr osecuting offenders, protecting victims, 
and preventing offences 
The 3rd policy option would be for a new Framew ork Decision, which at once repeals and 
incorporates the existing Framework Decision, includes certain provisions of the Convention 
CETS No. 201 and also additiona l provisions which are not contai ned in either the existing 
Framework Decision or the Convent ion to address the objectives to a greater extent than the 
equivalent provisions of the Convention. 
Comparison of the policy option  with the current Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA  
The new elements to be included in the new Framework Decision, compared to the current 
Framework Decision, would be the following ones: 
On substantive criminal law in general  
Serious forms of child sexual abuse and e xploitation are currently not covered by EU 
legislation. To ensure prosecution and to facili tate international coope ration in trans-border 
cases, they should be explicitly included as cr iminal offences in a Framework Decision. The 
conducts described in Convention CETS No. 201 would be criminalised also in the EU 
legislative instrument, and the level of penaltie s would be increased to reflect the seriousness 
of offences. The following conduct would be crim inalised, and other elements would also be 
included: 
• engaging in sexual activities with a ch ild under the age of sexual consent 
• engaging in sexual activities with a child where abuse is made of the child’s particularly 
vulnerable situation 
• coercing a child into sexual relations with a third party 
• intentionally causing children to witness sexual abuse or activities 
• new aggravating circumstances: particularly vulnerable victim, abuse of authority or 
influence; gang offence; recidivism 
 
EN 19   EN • amendment of the definition of  ‘child pornography’ to better  align it with international 
instruments (in particular the CoE Conven tion) and to cover child sexual abuse or 
exploitation more widely 
• inclusion of all cases of child pornography offences, even where adults pose  as children, or 
where it involves realistic im ages of a non-existent child 
• knowingly attending pornographic pe rformances involving children 
• attempting to commit child sexual abuse or ex ploitation offences; aiding and abetting by 
means of advertising child por nography, facilita ting travel or arrangements for child sex 
tourism, or promoting child sexual abuse or exploitation, for example, through internet fora 
• The level of penalties would be  increased and the legislation would be consistent with the 
rules on child trafficking, so that criminal sanctions ar e proportionate, effective and 
dissuasive, and that investigation and prosecu tion of these offences is given appropriate 
attention by nationa l authorities. 
Some elements suggested by st akeholders during th e consultation have been taken into 
account, but for different reasons  would not be included in th is proposal. They are the 
following: 
• The proposal to approximate legislati on harmonising the age of sexual consent 
The age under which engaging in consensual sexual relations w ith a child is considered a 
criminal offence varies considerably throughout the EU, with ages ranging from 13 to 17 
years. Setting a uniform age of sexual cons ent would have the advantage of granting a 
uniform level of protection for children acro ss Europe and would avoid any inconsistency 
arising from the abolition of double criminality (an element which is essential to fight child 
sex tourism). However, it has been considered th at the regulation of such delicate matter as 
the discovery of sexuality by adolescents resu lts from a set of cultural and moral norms 
particular for each Member State on. Attempts to harmonise that age, even within certain 
brackets would have triggered difficult and possib ly emotional debates in Member States and 
would unlikely lead to a consensus. Therefore,  it has been considered  not to include this 
element in a proposal. 
• The proposal to change the term "ch ild pornography" to "child sexual abuse 
images/materials. 
The proposed change would properly reflect the gravity of the offence. The current term 
"child pornography" is i ndeed misleading and suggests that th is is just one special kind of 
pornography, as such a legitimate activity. Howeve r, the term "child pornography" is used in 
international instruments and legislation. Cha nging the term in an EU Framework Decision 
would have created problems of consistency fo r the national legislator, who would have been 
confronted with the need to use different wording deriving from di fferent international 
obligations. For that reason, the term "child pornogra phy" has been maintained. 
On new criminal offences in the IT environment  
New forms of sexual abuse and ex ploitation are being facilitated by the use of IT. This is 
mainly due to the possibilities for offenders to act with a certain degree of anonymity. In other 
cases, webcams allow to be virtually present in the abuse of children, even over a physical distance. And access to child pornography which is  not technically stored in the offender's 
 
EN 20   EN equipment does not amount to possession in cer tain jurisdiction. If these new forms of 
behaviours are not explicitly included in crimin al law, prosecutions and sanctions are legally 
not possible. Therefore, new criminal offences should be included in th e FD to take account 
of them, building on the work done in the c ontext of the recent C onvention CETS No. 201. 
The new forms of criminal offences  would include, in particular: 
• grooming (soliciting children for sexual purposes) 
• online sexual abuse and exploitation by mean s of images, without physical contact 
• intentionally viewing chil d pornography without downloadi ng or storing files. 
On criminal investigation and initiation of proceedings  
A number of provisions would be introduced to  assist with investigating offences and 
bringing charges. Especially  on child pornography, sex offe nder circles are difficult to 
investigate by law enforcement authorities, as they after require newcomers to provide child 
abuse image as a way of vetting them, somethi ng that traditional rules regulating enquiry 
activities by the police may forbid. Additionally, it is impor tant that charges can be brought 
by the victim once he or she has recovered from the trauma of suffering the abuse, which can 
take years after it happens, par ticularly given the vulnerable situ ation of children. On the other 
hand, other persons who become aware of the abuse should be able to report it without having 
to fear sanctions for breaches of professiona l rules on confidentiality, as for the reasons 
mentioned before, the child itself may not be  in a position to denounce the crime. The 
Framework Decision would include, in particular, the following elements: 
• explicitly recognising the possi bility to use, where appropr iate, special investigative 
techniques for investigating child sexual ab use and exploitation offences, subject to 
conditions laid down by national legislation and taking into account, inter alia , the 
principle of proportionality in relation to the rules of evidence and re garding the nature and 
seriousness of the offences 
• extending the statute of limitations for the victim in all child sexual abuse and exploitation 
offences 
• protecting professionals who may come into c ontact with children a nd report suspicion of 
abuse from liability 
On prosecution of offences committed abroad  
Rules on jurisdiction would be amen ded to ensure that child sexua l abusers or exploiters from 
the EU face prosecution even if they commit their crimes in a third country, via so-called sex 
tourism. For that, traditional rules on crimin al jurisdiction should be amended to cover 
extraterritorial cases and to eliminate requireme nts of intervention by authorities in the third 
country, which may not be able  or willing to take a firm  stand against child sexual 
exploitation. In this way offenders abusing ab road face sanctions when they come back. The 
following elements would be included: 
• to establish Member States’ jurisdiction in all cases where the offender, the person for 
whose benefit the offence is committed or the victim is a national or a permanent resident, regardless of where the abuse takes place 
• to abolish the prosecution requirement in some  national legislation that the acts must be 
criminal offences in the country where they are performed (‘dual criminality’) 
 
EN 21   EN • to abolish the requirement in some national legi slation that the victim file a complaint or 
that the State where the o ffence took place bring charges 
On protection of victims  
Victims should have easy access to legal remedies . When abuse occurs in the family, it would 
be necessary to tackle conflicts of interest, and the vul nerable situation of the child, also in 
financial terms, advocate free legal counselling and representation. Additionally, children who 
are sexually exploited should not be in a positi on to fear sanctions from authorities derived 
from bringing their case to their attention, for example as a result of national legislation on 
immigration or on prostitution. Furthermore, their participation in criminal proceedings should ensure that reviving the experience and facing offenders does not lead to new trauma. 
The new provisions would include: 
• adoption of protection measures for child vi ctims following a multidisciplinary assessment 
of their needs, taking into account the best inte rests of the child in the first place 
• to free legal counselling and free legal repres entation for victims of exploitation who are 
party to criminal proceedings on these offences 
• appointment of a special representative of the child victim in criminal proceedings in the 
event of a conflict of interest with the legal guardian 
• specific provisions on the participation of ch ild victims in investigations and criminal 
proceedings to prevent trauma and re-victimisation 
• non-punishment and non-detentio n provisions for victims of offences related to their 
exploitation 
On prevention of offences
 
Amendments would be introduced to help prevent child sexual ab use and exploitation 
offences, through a number of actions. Some would concentrate on previous offenders. To 
prevent re-offending, the dangerousness of each  particular offender should be assessed. 
Intervention programmes and diffe rent types of treatment are proving effectiv e in curbing 
down re-offending, and this good pr actice should be generalized, taking care of respecting the 
fundamental rights of offenders. Additionally, it s hould be possible to ensure that prohibitions 
to exercise activities involving contact with ch ildren can be implemented even if the offender 
crosses borders within the EU. On child pornography, re ducing the possibilities of 
dissemination reduces also economic incentive for abusers to commit their crimes. Where 
removing the pages at the origin is not possibl e, technical tools to restrict access at the 
destination should be cons idered. The following measures should be included: 
• Individual risk assessment of each convicted child sex offender 
• Obligation for Member States to offer interv ention programmes or me asures accessible to 
convicted child sex offenders on a voluntary basis 
• Adoption of measures focused on offenders, such  as disqualification arising from criminal 
convictions and prohibition from working or activity with minors, as appropriate for 
offenders whose risk assessment indicat es that they are still dangerous.  
• Mechanisms to ensure recognition and eff ective implementation of such measures 
throughout the EU. These would require effi cient information exchange between the 
Member States on child sex offenders’ crimin al records, to include information on 
 
EN 22   EN disqualification arising from criminal convic tions and prohibition from working or activity 
with minors, and to ensure their mutual  recognition. This would entail making some 
additions to the rules envisage d in the future EU instruments on exchange of criminal 
records, namely to include such prohibitions in the criminal records, and to allow processing of that personal data for th e purpose of implementing the prohibitions. 
• An obligation on Member States to put in pl ace a mechanism to block access by Internet 
users to Internet pages containing or  disseminating child pornography, through, for 
instance, legally bind ing measures or voluntary agreem ents with Internet Service 
Providers.
31 
• Some elements suggested by stakeholders dur ing the consultation have been taken into 
account, but for the reason mentioned below woul d not be included in this proposal. They 
are the following: 
• The proposal to include a system of mandatory  checking of criminal records by employers. 
This proposal aimed at ensuring that chil d sexual offenders who are prevented from 
exercising professional activities involving regular contact with children would effectively be 
barred from gaining access to those positi ons. However, such measure would involve 
regulating the conditions for access to employ ment in Member States, which would go 
beyond the scope of a Framework Decision and of any EU inst rument in criminal matters. 
Therefore, this matter has been left to Me mber States. However, where Member States' 
legislation does require such mandatory check ing, the proposal would pr ovide the added value 
of ensuring that the criminal records to be ch ecked provide an accurate picture of prohibitions 
arising from conviction issu ed anywhere in the EU. 
In this way, the new Framework Decision woul d lay down a comprehensive legal framework, 
within the limits set by the Tr eaty, respecting the principles of  necessity and proportionality. 
The individual elements of this option have been identified through a broad stakeholder's 
consultation and, for the vast majority of meas ures, taking into account information on best 
national practices and the improvements in intern ational standards recently introduced in the 
Convention CETS No. 201. The consultation meeti ngs have contributed to the update of the 
list of problems and solutions. 
Even though internationa l action in criminal law is relati vely recent, a broad consensus has 
been built on the need for a holistic appro ach covering prosecut ion of the offenders, 
protection of the victims, and prevention of the phenomenon. The three aspects are 
interdependent, and combining them is a conditi on for success of an e ffective policy. To fight 
crime, criminal sanctions are necessary, and the rule of law requires legislation for that. Protection of victims is a humanitarian duty and a condition for successful prosecution, as 
victims are the main witnesses.  And penalties are necessary, but  only intervene after the crime 
has been committed and the victim has been harm ed, making it necessary to adopt additional 
measures to reduce the risks of offending. 
The current Framework Decision already addresses prosecution a nd protection. Legislation to 
go beyond the baseline scenario would therefore need to introduce substantive improvements 
in those two fields and additionally incorporate provisions on prevention. 
                                                
 
31 This specific measure may require a separate EU legal instrument. 
 
EN 23   EN Comparison of the policy option with the Convention CETS No. 201  
With respect to Convention CETS No. 201, this  policy option would allow for the EU to 
provide added value in a number of areas  that are described in detail below. 
Firstly, in general terms, even though Member  States may be willi ng to ratify Convention 
CETS No. 201, incorporating some of its provi sions into the new Framework Decision would 
provide a number of advantages  linked to the stronger bond crea ted by the EU legal order. 
The added value of an EU instru ment is related to the advantages of the more integrated 
institutional framework of the European Un ion concerning third pi llar instruments, in 
particular Framework Decisions, vi s-à-vis international treaties and conventions. In particular: 
• In contrast with the lengthy pr ocedures to sign and ratify international c onventions that can 
last for many years, Framework Decisions en ter into force exactly as first pillar 
instruments do and set out a rest ricted period for implementation. 
• Member States must notify the national measures implementing Framework Decisions to 
the Council and Commission. The correct and full implementati on of Member States is 
evaluated in an implementation report from the Commission, later a ssessed by the Council. 
In addition, the European Court of Justice is entitled to interpret Framework Decisions via 
preliminary rulings. Sixteen Member States have accepted so far the authority of the 
European Court of Justice to deliver preliminar y rulings as regards instruments of the third 
pillar. 
Secondly, a number of substant ial provisions which are not contained in Convention CETS 
No. 201 have been identified in consultations with stakeholders as necessary to go beyond the level of detail of the Convention and to impr ove protection of children beyond the Council of 
Europe standard: 
• The establishment of mechanisms to ensure that exclusions from exercising certain 
activities involving regular cont act with children, to reduce the risk of reoffending, are 
applied consistently EU-wide. 
This measure would build upon work already ach ieved at EU level, such as the general 
scheme for exchange of information on crim inal records, and on the implementation of 
alternative sanctions, and w ould introduce specific elements necessary to ensure the 
effectiveness of those prohibitions across the EU, such as the need to include them in national criminal records, and the possibility to use th e personal data for the purpose of implementing 
the prohibition, for example to grant access to employment i nvolving regular contact with 
children. 
• Member States should put in place mechan isms to block access to Internet pages 
containing or disseminating child pornography. 
This is considered by stakeholders as a n ecessary element in the fight against child 
pornography, in particular where the websites are located outside the EU, as it usually 
happens, and removing its content from the or iginal source requires  cooperation by third 
country authorities, whic h is not easy to obtain. 
The obligation on Member States to put in  place a mechanism to block access does not 
exclude self-regulation by Internet Service Provid ers. Only in the absence of effective self-
 
EN 24   EN regulatory measures putting in place a blocking  mechanism should Member States look into 
taking additional measures, which may include regulations. 
The solution on blocking access limited to encour aging self-regulation is dealt with under 
option 2. 
• criminalising coercing a child into sexual relations with a third party 
In the current Framework Decision, coercing a child  into sexual relations with a third party is 
only a criminal offence if money is received in  exchange, that is, in the context of child 
prostitution. However, the harm for the child arises arguably from  the fact of being forced to 
sexual relations, regardless of whether payment (u sually to the exploiter) has taken place or 
not. This provision would cover this l acuna of the current legal framework. 
• eliminating possibilities for Member States to  make exceptions in the current Framework 
Decision on child pornography offences 
The current Framework decision contains the possibility for Member  States to exempt 
themselves from criminalising certain fo rms of child pornography. These exemptions, 
however, blur the clear message that child pornography is in reality child sexual abuse images 
and that it should be combate d. It also conveys the message that certain forms of child 
pornography can be considered as acceptable. Fo r the sake of coherence and to clarify the 
legal provisions, they should be eliminated. 
• addressing activities faci litating child pornography and child sex tourism 
The sexual exploitation of ch ildren through child pornography or  child sex tourism usually 
takes place in the context of complex organisati ons and involving a number of actors. It is 
important that attention is drawn to the need examine activities which are necessary for these 
forms of abuse to take place (like the organisati on of sex trips or the advertisement of child 
pornography) as instigation, or aidi ng and abetting under national law. 
• adapt the level of penalties to the severity of the offences 
The levels of penalties should be  increased to reflect  the seriousness of the offence and the 
harm they cause on child victims. It is also n ecessary to ensure consistency with the penalties 
set out in the Framework Decision on Traffick ing for traffickers exploiting children for 
prostitution. 
• child sexual abuse online (webcam abuse) 
The use of information technologies make possible new forms of sexual abuse and this 
includes those situations where children are abused and their images are transmitted live 
online (usually via a webcam) to an audience, which sometimes dictates in real time how the 
abuse should be performed. To avoid the difficu lties in applying existing criminal provisions 
to this new phenomenon, a new crim inal offence should be introduced. 
• non-punishment clause 
Sexually exploited children are often victims of  trafficking, although this may be difficult to 
prove in particular cases, due to the different elements necessary to quality as trafficking in 
human beings, or where legislati on adopts a narrow definition of trafficking. As a result, cases 
 
EN 25   EN that are brought to court may be tried under othe r, related legislation, such as laws on sexual 
exploitation and abuse, migrati on and asylum, or labou r regulations. In consequence, and far 
too often, victims of trafficki ng, including children, ar e treated as illegal migrants, or as 
individuals who are criminally complicit in thei r own exploitation. To prevent this, legislation 
should explicitly state that ch ildren victims of sexua l exploitation should  not be prosecuted, 
detained or punished for unlaw ful activities they have been  involved in as a direct 
consequence of being subjected to sexual exploitation. 
• free legal counselling for child victims 
Effective access to court may necessitate the free assistance of a lawyer. This is particularly 
the case for children victims of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, where special 
circumstances are often present: the comp lexity of proceedings, the psychological 
vulnerability of children, or the risk of insufficient capacity of social services or conflict of 
interest with legal guardians. All this suggest that free lega l counselling should be provided 
for children victims of sexual abus e and exploitati on in all cases. 
4.4. Policy option (4) New comprehensive le gislation to enhance prosecution of 
offenders, protection of victims and preventi on of offences (as in Option 3) plus 
non-legislative measures (as in Option 2) 
Under this policy option, the existing provi sions of Framework D ecision 68/2004/JHA would 
be supplemented by EU action introducing legisl ative amendments to substantive criminal 
law and procedure, protection of the victims,  and prevention of offences mentioned under 
Option 3. In addition, action would be under taken through non-legislative measures in 
different forms (Council conclusions, voluntary benchmarks, exchange of information and 
experience, coordination of national policies)  identified under Option 2.to address a number 
of elements to improve implementation of nati onal legislation in criminal matters resulting 
from the amendments, and to provide for tool s of investigation, prosecution, protection and 
prevention in sectors outside criminal law. 
5. ANALYSIS OF IMPACTS  
As a general remark, no environmental impacts will be considered, as they do not seem 
relevant to the action undertaken. 
Social impacts 
Any measure which is inefficient in fighting cr ime is likely to produce a series of negative 
social impacts linked to the crime itself. This includes damage to values which matter to society, undermining trust in publi c institutions and the authority of the State, trauma for 
victims, and widespread fear. In the case of child sexual abuse, these impacts are even more 
intense. Sexual abuse and exploitation of chil dren causes deep and long-lasting physical, 
psychological and social damage for the victim a nd people close to him or her. In the analysis 
that follows, we will refer to these impacts as ‘ the negative social impact of child sexual 
abuse and exploitation in general’ 
On the other hand, measures which improve effi ciency in fighting crim e are likely to produce 
positive social impacts, such as an increase in security and trust in authorities and 
interpersonal relations, as well as a lesser need  for self-protecting measures. In the case of 
 
EN 26   EN fighting child sexual abuse and exploitation, th is includes more harmonious child 
development, and more stable family and social life. In the analysis th at follows, we will refer 
to these impacts as ‘ the positive social impact of fighting child sexual abuse and exploitation 
in general’ .  
Economic impact 
In the same way, measures that are inefficien t in fighting crime will produce a general pattern 
of negative economic impact. In the long term, th is includes inefficient State intervention due 
to lack of trust in public authorities, ineffici ent use of resources due to individuals adopting 
self-protecting measures, decr eased productivity linked to trau ma suffered by victims, and 
unfair distribution of wealth as criminals profit from their activities. In the case of child 
sexual exploitation and abuse, this is exacerba ted by the economic cost of the psychological 
distress of victims and their in creased health risks, and the cost of processing offenders 
through the criminal system. Scientific estimate s of the economic cost of child sexual abuse 
crimes range between EUR 100 000 and EUR 250 00032 per offence. In the analysis that 
follows, we will refer to these impacts as ‘ the negative economic impact of child sexual abuse 
and exploitation in general’ . 
By contrast, measures which improve efficiency in fighti ng crime are likely to produce a 
general pattern of net positive economic impact. In the short term, there may be a moderate 
increase in administrative costs due to greater demands on the public system of criminal law 
(because a more efficient system to fight cr ime catches and processes more criminals), 
accompanied by a corresponding effect on the wi der economy that must pay those costs . 
However, in the medium and long term, there s hould be a substantial reduction in such costs 
(because a more efficient system to fight and prevent crime deters more criminals and their rehabilitation leads to fewer offences, so that  fewer criminals are ‘processed’), bearing in 
mind that a baseline level of crime is probably un avoidable. At any rate, and especially in the 
case of crimes as serious as child sexual of fences, any possible short-term increase in 
administrative expenditure is largely compensa ted by the economic benefits of avoiding the 
economic costs of such offences listed above. In the analysis that follows, we will refer to these impacts as ‘ the positive economic impact of fighting child sex ual abuse and exploitation 
in general’ . 
Table of symbols (distinguishes ‘-’ for costs and ‘+’ benefits 
Small magnitude - / + 
Medium magnitude -- / ++ 
Significant magnitude--- / +++ 
No impact 0 
                                                 
32 Calculations made on the basis of 1998 estimates based on the situation in Australia for reoffending in 
child sexual abuse crime, taking account of victim-related costs (tangible: direct cost per victim / intangible: economic value of pain and suffering) and offender-related costs (incarceration); taken from 
Shanahan, M., and Donato, R., ‘Counting the cost: estimating the economic benefit of pedophile 
treatment programs’, in Child Abuse and Neglect , Vol. 25, Issue 4, 2001. 
 
EN 27   EN 5.1. Policy option 1: no new EU action 
As stated above, all things be ing equal, under this option the current level of child sexual 
abuse and exploitation is likely to remain unchanged, or at any rate there is no radical 
decrease in the number of crimes committed. 
Member States can be expected to ratify the recent Council of Europe Convention CETS No. 
201 and implement its provisions; this would l ead to significant improvements in all three 
areas of prosecution of offenders, protection of  the victims and preven tion of offences. In 
principle, Member States should introduce exte nsive legislative improvements in criminal 
law, but also in other areas of  the legal system; and they w ould put in place the necessary 
administrative capacity to implement it, involvin g different actors invol ved in child services. 
However, due to the length of ratification peri ods in the absence of an EU legally binding 
framework, benefits arising from individua l ratification by Member States would be 
fragmented over time, and less vigorous enforcement mechanis ms would raise doubts about 
the quality of implementation, which is why its possible impacts are very difficult to assess. 
5.1.1.  Economic impact: 0 
Until all Member States have signed the Conve ntion, put in place the necessary legislation 
and administrative capacity to implement it, and ratified the Convention, current levels of 
offences against children could be expect ed to persist. This would result in a negative 
economic impact of child sexual abuse and exploitation in general, representing an economic 
cost in itself, without  any specific benefit. 
5.1.2.  Social impact: 0 
Until all Member States have signed the Conve ntion, put in place the necessary legislation 
and administrative capacity to implement it, and ratified the Convention, current levels of 
offences against children could be expected to persist. This would result in a negative social 
impact of child sexual abuse and exploitation in general, representing a social cost in itself, 
without any specific benefit.  
5.1.3.  Fundamental rights impact: 0 
Until all Member States have signed the Conve ntion, put in place the necessary legislation 
and administrative capacity to implement it, an d ratified the Convention, there would be no 
new measures which could raise concerns as to thei r compatibility with fundamental rights. 
At the same time, however, no higher level of ch ild protection would be achieved. In the light 
of Article 24 of the EU Charter and children’s  right to protection, this situation could be 
considered as having a negative impact on fundamental rights. 
5.2. Policy option (2): Complement existing le gislation with non-le gislative measures 
Under this option, existing EU legislation, in particular Fr amework Decision 68/2004/JHA 
would not be amended, and Member States woul d not be obliged to modify their criminal 
legislation in the field of fight against child sexual abus e and exploitation. Instead, non-
legislative mechanisms would be used to coor dinate implementation of national legislation 
through exchange of best practice mainly. 
 
EN 28   EN As stated above, the EU would deliberately not prescribe how to implement this, since each 
Member State would need to select the most  appropriate and propor tionate approach to 
implementation for its own particular situati on. However the EU would provide examples of 
what Member States have done by way of be st practice, in pros ecuting certain crimes, 
protecting victims or preventi ng offences (see section 4). 
For this reason, it is not possible to assess the impact of implementing these measures with 
any accuracy, although some benefits and potentia l costs can be broadly estimated (see table 
below). 
This option would improve the si tuation in certain areas where implementation is crucial and 
where a specific legal basis at national level is not essential. This is the case for measures aimed at improving national coordination of di fferent actors involved in child protection, 
interaction with the private sect or, or awareness rais ing activities. In othe r sectors, though, the 
existing legal basis should at national level w ould determine the extent to which cooperation 
is possible, e.g. conducting enquiri es involving more than one Member State (as is often the 
case in child pornography offences), improving pr otocols on the participat ion of child victims 
in proceedings, or sharing best practice in designing and implementing intervention 
programmes for offenders to curb reoffending. Ho wever, in other areas where new legislation 
is essential, the benefi ts would be modest. This applies to  criminal prosecution and conviction 
for conduct involving various forms of child abus e and exploitation that would have to be 
explicitly covered by law ( nulla poena sine lege , Article 7 of the ECHR, Article 49 of the EU 
Charter), and certain measures involving interf erence in fundamental rights, which also need 
to be taken ‘in accordance with the law’ (Artic les 8 and 10 of the ECHR, and Article 52(1) of 
the EU Charter). 
As a result, the following impacts can be expected 
5.2.1.  Economic impact: 
• financial cost: -  
• economic benefit: + 
Improving national measures in pl ace would bring about a certain positive economic impact of 
fighting child sexual abuse and exploitation in general . These measures may lead to an 
improvement in the use of res ources currently allocated by Member States, but not necessarily 
to allocating more resources to those activities. Where they decide to invest more resources (for example, setting up new intervention progra mmes for offenders), the investment could be 
expected to be rather limited without an external obligation (e.g. deriving from EU 
legislation). The financial burde n would therefore be moderate. Some EU funding for certain 
activities may also be available unde r the existing financial programmes
33. 
In particular, blocking access to websites c ontaining child abuse material would involve 
economic costs. The economic impact of a sim ilar measure to restrict access to material 
inciting terrorism was assessed in revising the Council Framework Decision on Combating 
                                                 
33 Council Decision (2007/125/JHA) of 12 February 2007 establishing for the period 2007 to 2013, as part 
of General Programme on Security and Safeguarding Liberties, the Specific Programme ‘Prevention of 
and Fight against Crime’, OJ L 58, 24.2.2007, p. 7. 
 
EN 29   EN Terrorism.34 As the impact assessment accompanyi ng the Commission pr oposal stated, the 
cost of imposing any of the different filtering me thods to all internet service providers based 
in the EU is impossible to calculate. An upper limit of EUR 10 per computer is given on the 
basis of a specific example of implementing filtering in a network of 100 000 computers at 
4 000 schools in Ireland. The cost of running a bl acklist of illegal content may be borne by 
those in charge of it, whether law enforcemen t authorities or specif ic NGOs. This can be 
estimated at about EUR 110 000 to build th e database and EUR 90 000 per year for 
maintenance. However, EU funding may be ava ilable for managing blacklists and exchanging 
information on illegal content35. 
These costs are mainly linked to the technology i nvolved. The fact that th e mechanisms is put 
in place on the basis of self-regulation by ISP encouraged by the Commission may not lead to a significant reduction of the costs compared to a system where putting in place such 
mechanisms at national level is brought about by  a EU obligation on Me mber States to do so. 
The only difference in global cost may derive fro m the fact that in a self regulatory scheme 
only if costs are limited will ISP be ready to be ar them on a voluntary basis. If they go beyond 
a certain threshold, ISP will not implement the system. There will be savings in the same 
proportion as there will be a decrease in effectiveness. 
5.2.2.  Social impact: 
• social costs:  0 
• social benefits: +  
There would be a modest improvement in the positive social impact of fighting child sexual 
abuse and exploitation in general , in particular due to less trau matic treatment of victims in 
proceedings and more effective intervention programmes, together with improvement in 
cross-border prosecution as  a result of coordination. 
No significant social cost s have been identified. 
5.2.3.  Fundamental rights impact: 
• risk of interference in  fundamental rights: -  
• improvement in the fundamental rights situation: +  
This policy option would mostly not entail new measures which could raise concerns as to 
their compatibility with funda mental rights, only improve existing measures through peer 
pressure and exchange of best  practice. This policy option w ould include only two specific 
measures which may raise concerns as to th eir compatibility with  fundamental rights. 
                                                
 
34 Impact Assessment, footnote 32. 
35 In order to fight offences on the internet, including child pornography, the Commission has responded 
to the initiative of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, and made available EUR 300 000 
under the ISEC programme for Europol to set up an alert platform where reports on illicit web content and other Internet-related crime committed in EU member states would be pooled for cross-checking. 
EU funding for hotlines to receive reports on illegal content is also available under the Safer Internet 
Programme. 
 
EN 30   EN One is the exchange of experience among au thorities on the implem entation of Council 
Decision 2008/615/JHA for DNA file s opened and kept for the i nvestigation of child sexual 
abuse offences, which includes storing and ex change of personal data for the purpose of 
facilitating criminal investigation. To be leg itimate, the specific mechanism would need to 
comply with the requirements of Article 8 ECHR (Articles 7 and 8 of the EU Charter), 
namely to be set up in accordance with the la w, and be a necessary me asure in a democratic 
society for the prevention of important public inte rests, such as combating child sexual abuse. 
In so far as the creation of the DNA files and th e exchange of information would be subject to 
the conditions set by Framework Decision 2008/615/JHA, which includes strong data 
protection guarantees, and also to Member States’ national da ta protection legislation, 
appropriate safeguards are provided to ensure th at the potential restrict ions of fundamental 
rights could be justified. However, to take accoun t of the risk that any of these conditions may 
not be respected in practice, and given the sens itive nature of such data, we consider this 
option to have a higher negative impact on fundamental rights. 
The other is encouragement of self regulation by ISPs to block access to Internet pages 
containing child pornography would involve interference in the ri ght to freedom of expression 
in Article 10 ECHR (Article 11 of the EU Ch arter). In accordance with  the ECHR, again, as 
interpreted by the European C ourt of Human Rights in Stras bourg, to respect fundamental 
rights such interference needs to be prescribed by law and be necessary in a democratic 
society for important interests, such as the prevention of crime. The proportionality of the 
measure would be ensured, as the blocking w ould only apply to specific websites identified 
by public authorities as containing such mate rial. There is also a risk, depending on the 
technology used, that the systems in place ma y occasionally block legitimate content too. 
More problematic may be the compliance with th e requirement that the interference in this 
fundamental right must be "prescribed by law" , which implies that a valid legal basis in 
domestic law must exist. This may not always be present in a system  based exclusively on 
self-regulation, and therefore th is measure risks to amount to a non legitimate interference 
with fundamental rights. 
In general terms, through the el ements included in this option, the level of child protection 
would improve. 
5.2.4.  Relevance of the measures 
Measure Link to specific 
objective  Cost  
Exchange of information and experience 
relating to prosecution of offences on: 
– forms of abuse which are difficult to 
prosecute; 
– new forms of abuse involving 
cyberspace and IT; 
– tackling sexual abuse and exploitation 
taking place outside Member States and involving nationals or permanent residents as offenders.  A1, A2, A3, A4 Unable to quantify 
As an example, the 
costs of projects on exchange of information and experiences trafficking in human beings and child sexual exploitation under the AGIS programme are around EUR 200 000 on average, ranging 
 
EN 31   EN from EUR 50 000 to 
EUR 500 000 
 
Setting up joint investigative teams and 
judicial coordination to investigate and 
prosecute child pornography cases involving a number of Member States.  A4 Unable to quantify 
As an example, the 
costs of joint investigative teams having received EU funding range between around EUR 200 000 and EUR 1 500 000 depending on the length of the operation, complexity and number of countries involved 
Exchange of experience among authorities on the implementation of Council Decision 2008/615/JHA for DNA files opened and kept for the investigation of child sexual abuse offences A4 No significant 
additional costs for Member States 
Exchange of information and experience relating to protection of the victims, in particular to avoi d re-victimisation 
through their participation in investigations and j udicial proceedings.  B2 Unable to quantify 
As an example, the 
costs of projects on exchange of information and experiences on trafficking in human beings and child sexual exploitation under the AGIS programme are around EUR 200 000 on average, ranging from EUR 50 000 to EUR 500 000 
Ensuring coordination between different actors involved in child protection (education and health , social services, 
law enforcement and the judiciary) and setting up independent institutions to promote and protect children’s rights B1 Unable to quantify 
Exchanging information and experience B1, B2 Unable to quantify 
 
EN 32   EN on measures other than criminal 
sanctions to protect victims in the best interests of the child, to protect their privacy, and to ensure short-, medium- and long-term support for victims, including through spec ial funds using the 
proceeds of these offences 
Exchange of information and experience on preventing offences, in particular on intervention programmes and measures and alternative sanctions like exclusion from activities involving contact with children.  C1, C2 Unable to quantify 
As an example, the 
costs of projects on exchange of information and experiences on trafficking in human beings and child sexual exploitation under the AGIS programme are around EUR 200 000 on average, ranging from EUR 50 000 to EUR 500 000 
Training and awareness raising for children and persons having regular contact with them, so that they know enough to recognise an d to report sexual 
abuse, and for public officials to conduct proceedings in a child-friendly way. A2, B2 Depends on 
implementation. 
As a reference, CEPOL 
training course for 20 law enforcement officials on trafficking in human beings costs EUR 30 000-35 000 
Cooperating with the private sector, in particular the information and communication technology, tourism and travel, banking and finance industries, and with civil society, to develop and implement policies to prevent sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children A2, A3, C3 Unable to quantify 
Encouraging self-regulation of Internet 
Service Providers to cooperate with public authorities an d block access to 
webpages containing or disseminating child pornography C3 Unable to quantify 
Setting up mechanisms for data 
collection or focal points to observe and evaluate the phenomenon of child sexual D1 Unable to quantify 
As an example, the 
 
EN 33   EN abuse and exploitation costs of the equivalent 
mechanisms in the field of fight against trafficking in human beings, where they exist, is as follows: 
Annual budget of the 
Dutch National Rapporteur: 
EUR 560 000; Annual budget of the 
'Centre pour l'égalité des chances' (BE): 
EUR 236 000s 
5.3. Policy option (3) New legislation on pr osecuting offenders, protecting victims, 
and preventing offences 
Under this policy option, Framework Decisi on 68/2004/JHA would be replaced by new EU 
legislation amending substantive criminal law and procedure with the same scope 
(prosecution and protection) bu t substantially better. In a ddition, legislative amendments 
would be introduced to help prevent child  sexual abuse and exploitation offences. 
Regarding prosecution, this option would approxim ate national criminal law to cover serious 
forms of child sexual abuse a nd exploitation currently not c overed by EU legislation and 
divergently regulated in Member  States. It would also includ e conduct which has proliferated 
recently through the expansion of IT and the In ternet, such as child grooming, webcam abuse 
and web viewing of child abuse images. It would also introduce amendments to criminal procedure to remove legal obstacles which e nquiries and prosecutions face when the victim 
does not report the abuse, or when offenders tr avel abroad to profit from the vulnerability of 
children in other countries; and to ensure that legal proceedings are not a new source of harm 
for children. 
Regarding protection, this option would facilitate partic ipation of victims in legal proceedings 
and reduce or eliminate the harm that they may suffer from participati ng in legal proceedings, 
whether trauma or punishment for offences they  may be charged with as a result of their 
exploitation. 
To prevent offences, this option would incorporat e a series of measures focusing on child sex 
offenders. Risk assessments should be conducted for offenders, and they  should be offered to 
participate on a voluntary basi s in intervention programmes or  measures. These may include 
various kinds of treatment, e.g. psychological, medical and social. They should be suited to 
the risks and circumstances of the offender, and give special consideration to children who are 
abusers. They should be voluntary, and open to people who fear that they may commit 
offences in future. Under these conditions, such  programmes, where they exist, are known to 
 
EN 34   EN effectively reduce the rates of recidivism. Various  studies give different  figures measuring the 
effectiveness of these programmes.36 
These measures would seek to effectively harm onise criminal law as CETS No. 201 aims to 
do. As stated in the explanatory report to the Convention37, harmonisation helps combat crime 
at national and international le vel for several reasons. Firstly, harmonising domestic law is a 
way of excluding a criminal preference for committing acts in a State which previously had more lenient rules. Secondly, it becomes possible to promote th e exchange of useful common 
data and experience. Shared definitions can  also assist research and promote data 
comparability at national and regional level, thus  making it easier to gain an overview. Lastly, 
international cooperation (in particular extraditio n and mutual legal assi stance) is facilitated. 
Additional measures not contained in the C onvention would further improve the level of 
protection beyond the Council of Europe standard. 
Setting up mechanisms to ensure that measures focusing on offenders and adopted to reduce 
the risk of reoffending (such as exclusion from  certain activities) are applied consistently 
throughout the EU would make tragedies like th e Fourniret case more difficult or even 
impossible. 
Furthermore, Member States would ensure that  websites containing ch ild pornography are not 
accessible from the EU establishing national mechanisms through, for instance, legally 
binding measures or voluntary agreement with ISPs . It is recognised that different methods of 
filtering do not constitute a perfectly solid barrie r, that dissemination of illegal content could 
only be hindered, not eliminated, and that dist ribution through other electronic means would 
persist.
38 This tool may therefore not be appropriate in fighting ma terial inciting terrorism as 
its effectiveness depends more on quality (rea ching the right people) than quantity (reaching 
many people). However, in the case of child sex pornography, much of the dissemination is 
profit-driven39, and making access more difficult also makes it a less profitable business. 
Filtering and blocking was therefore identifie d by various stakeholders as a necessary 
component of the fight against ch ild sexual abuse and exploitation40. The difference with the 
encouragement of self-regulation under Option 2 would be that under the present Option Member States should ensure a broad coverage of the system. This would not exclude self-
regulation at national level, but does not excl ude that Member States adopt legally binding 
measures where it may be necessary, thus ensu ring a greater effectiven ess of the mechanism. 
                                                
 
36 A study reviewing the results of 32 studies on the effectiveness of programmes for offenders in all sorts 
of crime gives an overall reduction of 14% in recidivism for programme participants compared to those 
not participating (Joy Tong, L.S. and Farrington, D., ‘Effectiveness of ‘reasoni ng and rehabilitation’ in 
reducing re-offending’, Psychothema  2008, Vol. 20, No 1). More sp ecifically on sexual offences, in 
some Spanish prisons offering psychological treatment, the recidivism rate was 18.2% in the control 
group compared with 4.1% among offenders participating in the programme (Redondo Illescas, op. cit.). 
37 CETS 201, para. 112. 
38 Impact Assessment on the Commission Proposal for a revision of the Council Framework Decision of 
13 June 2002 on combating terrorism, 6.11.2007, SEC(2007) 1424. 
39 EUROPOL: Trafficking in Human Beings and Child  Sexual Exploitation Intelligence Bulletin, No 2, 
April 2008, pg. 15 ff. 
40 Council Decision 2000/375/JHA, Article 3(b); Europe and Central Asia Regional Preparatory Meeting 
for the World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, September 2008; information available at http://www.ecpat.net/W orldCongressIII/PDF/RegionalMTGs/EU_PR.pdf; 
Proposal for a European Parliament Recommendation to the Council on combating the sexual 
exploitation of children and child pornography, 2008/2144(INI). 
 
EN 35   EN Other provisions to be introdu ced were identified in consu ltations with stakeholders as 
necessary to go beyond the level of protection or detail contained in the Convention, e.g. 
criminalising coercing a child into sexual relations with a third party, not allowing Member States to make exceptions to  the current Framework Decisi on on child pornography offences, 
addressing activities facilitating child pornograp hy and child sex tourism, matching the level 
of penalties to the severity of the offences, criminalising child sexual abuse online (webcam abuse), a non-punishment clause for child victim s, and to free legal counselling and free legal 
representation for child victims. 
Following these measures, a significant improveme nt is likely to take place in the fight 
against child sexual abuse and exploitation. As a result, the following impacts can be 
expected. 
5.3.1.  Economic impact 
• financial cost: - -  
• economic benefit: + + 
The significant improvement in prosecuting and protecting victims and, indirectly, preventing 
offences through deterrence may lead to a significant positive economic impact of fighting 
child sexual abuse and exploitation in general .  
In general terms, the measures envisaged here would lead to a more effective criminal law 
system. This means more police operations, more  detentions, more judicial proceedings and 
more prison sentences. This would undoubtedly  imply a higher financial burden for Member 
States. These costs, however, are very diffi cult to estimate. On the other hand, economic 
benefits would derive from higher levels of secu rity and less damage to victims and society. 
As it is normally preferable to live in a secure  society than in a crime-ridden one, it can well 
be assumed that the economic benefits overweigh the costs. 
Based on these considerations, we will focus the analysis only on some of the measures 
envisaged which may have financial costs for Member States. Based on fragmentary 
information collected from similar, existing mechanisms, these can be estimated as follows: 
• Granting to free legal counselling and free legal representation to child victims: it has been 
particularly difficult to obtain information from by Member States to quantify the cost of 
this measure. Conditions for access to legal aid vary considerably, sometimes covering 
only victims up to 16 years, or not distinguishin g adults/children. Where data on fees exist, 
it may be dependent on other factors: the time consumed by a lawyer on this type of cases 
vary depending on the difficulty (within/outsi de the family; with/w ithout witnesses or 
forensic evidence; with/without need to pr ove additional circumstances; only in first 
instance, or also in appeal),  or the amount of compensati on for damage awarded. Equally, 
the number of victims per year is not known. Th ere is lack of reliable mechanisms for 
collecting data, definitions of crimes vary (e.g. "rape" may cover both child and adult 
victims), and there is no disaggregated data  depending on the offen ce and the victim. We 
are therefore unable to quantify this cost. It  is clear, though, that  these costs would be 
borne by Member States’ genera l system of free legal aid. 
• Individual risk assessment for offenders: EU R 52 million for the whole EU per year, with 
Member States’ costs varying according to the level of prices and size, ranging from about 
 
EN 36   EN EUR 9 million in the UK to EUR 32 000 in Malta.41 These costs would be borne by 
Member State administrations (usually prison services) taking care of  convicted offenders. 
Details on these estimates are included in the Annex. 
• Offering intervention programmes for offende rs or potential offenders: about EUR 190 
million for the whole EU per year, with costs per Member States varying according to the 
level of prices and size, and ranging from  EUR 32 million in the UK to EUR 125 000 in 
Malta.42 Scientific literature suggests, however, that the economic benefits of preventing 
reoffending largely override the cost s of carrying out such programmes.43 These costs 
would be borne by Member Stat e administrations (usually pr ison services) taking care of 
convicted offenders. Details on these estimates are included in the Annex. 
• Blocking access to websites containing child a buse material: as explained before when 
speaking about this measure on a self-regulation basi s, the cost of imposing any of the 
different filtering methods to al l internet service pr oviders based in the EU is impossible to 
calculate, with an upper limit of EUR 10 per co mputer is given on the basis of specific 
experience, and cost of running a blacklist of  illegal content at about EUR 110 000 to build 
the database and EUR 90 000 per year for main tenance, to be borne by law enforcement 
authorities or specific NGOs. These unit costs, liked to putting in place the technology and 
organisation to run the system, are substantiall y the same for self-regulation exclusively or 
for an option which does not exclude regulatio n. The difference may be in global costs, 
deriving from the fact that under the current option Member States would be obliged to 
establish a national mechanism to block acces s (through self-regulation or through binding 
measures where necessary), a nd a larger extent of ISP i nvolved and content blocked may 
be ensured, with higher costs corresponding to higher efficiency. As with the self-
regulatory model in option 2, EU funding may be available for managing blacklists and 
exchanging information on illegal content. 
5.3.2.  Social impact 
• social costs: - 
• social benefits: + + 
There would be a significant improvement in the positive social impac t of fighting child 
sexual abuse and exploitation in general , as more cases of abuse would be punished in a more 
efficient way. Better protection of  the victims would re duce their fear of reporting crimes and 
that would in turn make prosecution more effec tive. Indirectly, a more effective response by 
the criminal law system would be a stronger de terrent for certain offenders and prevent new 
abuse. For those not deterred, intervention pr ogrammes matching their risk would reduce 
cases of reoffending, and measures focusing on o ffenders, such as prohibition from activity 
involving contact with children would limit opportunities for further abuse. 
                                                 
41 Calculations on the basis of 1) cost estimates for risk assessment and intervention programmes in some 
countries (UK, Sweden, Australia); 2) price level index weighing (source: European Commission); 3) 
mean rate of persons convicted of rape (European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice, 2006); and 4) general and child population in Europe (Eurostat). 
42 See footnote 30. 
43 Shanahan and Donato, op. cit. 
 
EN 37   EN Limited social costs would derive from excludi ng dangerous offenders from work or activity 
in areas involving regular contact with children. 
5.3.3.  Fundamental rights impact: 
• risk of interference in  fundamental rights: -  
• improvement in the fundamental rights situation: + + 
This policy option would entail measures which c ould raise concerns as to their compatibility 
with fundamental rights. 
Concerning the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8 ECHR, Articles 7 and 8 
of the EU Charter), criminalising new forms of internet abuse and recognising special 
investigative techniques would lead to more  enquiries into electronic communications, 
involving disclosure of traffi c data and other categories of personal data. Prohibition from 
certain activities, or monitoring, and the excha nge of information to ensure implementation 
throughout the EU could also amount to interfe rence with this right.  As for freedom of 
expression (Article 10 ECHR, Article 11 of the EU Charter), more intense law enforcement 
against publishing and disseminating child abus e material, advertising child pornography or 
encouraging child sexual abuse, as well as mechanisms to block access to Internet pages containing child pornography would invol ve interference in this right. 
In accordance with the ECHR, as  interpreted by the European  Court of Human Rights in 
Strasbourg, to respect fundamental rights such in terference needs to be in accordance with the 
law and constitute a necessary measure in a democr atic society for important interests, such as 
the prevention of crime. 
Such measures must indeed be subject to law,  or they are illegal. Their proportionality is 
guaranteed by a series of safeguards, according to the measure: 
– For new criminal offences and special inves tigation techniques, existing law on criminal 
procedure should ensure that action is targ eted and only taken upon well-founded suspicion 
of crime, through procedures involving the in tervention of the judi ciary, and subject to 
domestic data prot ection legislation.  
– Prohibition from certain activities and fu rther measures focusing on offenders who 
continue to be dangerous after their sentences would affect only those offenders 
individually assessed as posing risks after release, and would be limited to restrictions 
considered essential. 
– Ensuring that ISPs block access to websites wo uld apply where the specific website has 
been identified by public authorit ies as containing such materi al. However, there is also a 
risk, depending on the technology used, that the systems in place may occasionally block 
legitimate content too. 
Although intervention programmes may be perceive d as particularly in trusive for offenders' 
rights, access to intervention programmes w ould not entail a risk  of interference in 
fundamental rights, since as a matter of principl e, participating in th ese programmes should be 
voluntary for the offender, who must be provided with full information and may refuse them. 
They should be designed to take  account of the circumstances of  offenders and their specific 
risk of re-offending, as determined by the ri sk assessment they should be subject to. 
 
EN 38   EN These measures would contribute to preventin g and combating child sexual abuse and its 
adverse consequences. Subject to the principl es of necessity and proportionality and the 
conditions outlined above, these are legitimate and important objectives which could justify 
limitations on the right to private and family life and freedom of expression. At the same time, this policy option has a positiv e impact on fundamental rights, as it aims to promote and 
advance the right to protection of children as laid down in Article 24 of the EU Charter. 
5.3.4.  Relevance of the measures 
The following table lists the specific measures  proposed, their relevance to the specific 
objectives and, where possible, th e likely costs entailed. Unfortuna tely in some cases, details 
of costs of these provisions wh ere they are already in force in some Member States have not 
been provided. 
Measure Link to specific 
objective  Cost  
On substantive criminal law in general    
Criminalising engaging in sexual 
activities with a child under the age of sexual consent A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising engaging in sexual 
activities with a child where abuse is made of the child’s particularly vulnerable situation A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising coercing a child into 
sexual relations with a third party A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising intentionally causing 
children to witness sexual abuse or activities A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising new aggravating 
circumstances: particularly vulnerable victim, abuse of authority or influence; gang offence; recidivism A1 No direct cost 
Amending the definition of ‘child 
pornography’ to better  align it with 
international instruments (in particular the CoE Convention) and to cover child 
sexual abuse or explo itation more widely A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising all cases of child 
pornography offences, even where adults pose as children, or where it involves realistic images of a non-existent child A1 No direct cost 
 
EN 39   EN Criminalising knowingly attending 
pornographic performances involving children A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising the attempt to commit 
child sexual abuse or exploitation offences; inclusion of certain activities as aiding and abetting, su ch as advertising 
child pornography, faci litating travel or 
arrangements for child sex tourism, or promoting child sexual abuse or exploitation, for example through internet fora; A1 No direct cost 
Increasing the leve l of penalties and 
ensuring consistency with the rules on child trafficking, so that criminal sanctions are proportionate, effective and dissuasive, and that investigation and prosecution of these offences is given appropriate attention by national authorities. A1 No direct cost 
On new criminal offences in the IT 
environment    
Criminalising grooming (soliciting 
children for sexual purposes)  A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising online sexual abuse and 
exploitation by means of images without physical contact A1 No direct cost 
Criminalising intentionally viewing child 
pornography without downloading or storing files A1 No direct cost 
On criminal investigation and initiation 
of proceedings    
Explicitly recognising special 
investigative technique s for investigating 
child sexual abuse and exploitation offences A2 No direct cost 
Extending the statute of limitations for 
the victim in all child sexual abuse and exploitation offences A2 No direct cost 
Ensuring protection from liability for 
professionals who may come into contact A2 No direct cost 
 
EN 40   EN with children and report suspicion of 
abuse 
On prosecution of offences committed 
abroad    
Establishing Member States’ jurisdiction 
in all cases where the offender, the person for whose benefit the offence is committed, or the victim is a national or a permanent resident, regardless of where the abuse takes place  A3 No direct cost 
Explicitly excluding  the prosecution 
requirement in some national legislation that the acts must be criminal offences in the country where they are performed (‘dual criminality’) A3 No direct cost 
Explicitly excluding the requirement in 
some national legislation that the victim file a complaint or that the State where the offence took place bring charges A3 No direct cost 
On protection of victims    
Adoption of protection measures for 
child victims following a multidisciplinary assessment of their needs, taking into account the best interests of the child in the first place B1 Unable to quantify 
To free legal counselling and free legal 
representation for victims of exploitation who are party to criminal proceedings on these offences B1 Unable to quantify 
Appointment of a special representative 
of the child victim in criminal proceedings in the event of a conflict of interest with the legal guardian B1 Unable to quantify 
Specific provisions on the participation 
of child victims in investigations and criminal proceedings to prevent trauma and re-victimisation B2 Unable to quantify 
Non-punishment and non-detention 
provision for victims, for offences related to their exploitation  B2 No direct cost 
 
EN 41   EN On prevention of offences    
Individual risk assessment of each 
convicted child sex offender;; and  C1, C2 52 Million euro per 
year for the whole EU for risk assessments 
Obligation to offer intervention programmes or measures accessible to offenders on a voluntary basis  190 Million euro for 
the whole EU per year for intervention programmes or measures 
Measures focusing on offenders (such as disqualification arising from criminal convictions, prohibiti on from working or 
activity with minors) as appropriate for offenders whose risk assessment indicates that they are still dangerous  No direct costs 
Mechanisms to ensure recognition and 
effective implementation of such measures throughout the EU. These would require efficient information exchange between the Member State on the child sex offenders’ criminal records, including information on disqualification arising from criminal convictions and prohibition from worki ng or activity with 
minors, and mutual recognition. In addition to the future EU instruments on exchange of criminal records, this would entail making certain additions to those rules. C2 Not significant 
additional cost for Member States 
The costs for the 
general system of exchange of information on criminal records was already considered already in the Commission Proposals for a Framework Decision (2005) and ECRIS Decision (2008) on exchange of criminal records, and would not be altered by the measures proposed under this policy 
option. 
   
Obligation on Member States to ensure 
that domestic Internet service providers block access from the Member State’s territory to internet pages which national authorities identify as containing or disseminating child pornography. C3 Unable to quantify 
 
EN 42   EN 5.4. Policy option (4) New legislation on pr osecuting offenders, protecting victims, 
and preventing offenders (as in Option 3)  plus non-legislative measures (as in 
Option 2) 
Under this policy option, FD 68/2004 would be  replaced by EU legislation introducing 
changes to substantive criminal law and proc edure, victim protection, and prevention of 
offences as under Option 3. In addition, ‘soft la w’ measures listed under Option 2 would be 
taken to improve implementation of the resulti ng national criminal law and to provide tools 
for investigation, prosecuti on, protection and prevention. 
In addition to the benefits of option 3, this option could be expected to bring about an 
improvement in the implementation and effectiv eness of Member States ’ legislation deriving 
from the measures identified under Option 2, a nd consistent compliance with their obligation 
under both EU and international la w. The blocking of internet pages would be carried out in 
accordance with the system mentioned under Opti on 3, allowing for both for self regulation or 
a regulatory framework to be de termined at national level. 
As a result, the following impacts can be expected. 
5.4.1.  Economic impact: 
• financial cost: - -  
• economic benefit: + + + 
There would be a very substantial improvement in the positive economic impact of fighting 
child sexual abuse and exploitation in general , as, on top of the improvements set out in 
option 3, better implementation of legislation and additional tools would mean less crime, fewer victims, and better pr osecution of existing cases. 
The financial costs for Member States and other actors, like Internet Service Providers, would 
be those analysed under Options 2 and 3. Th e main items would be the blocking access to 
internet pages, free legal counselling and free le gal representation for victims, individual risk 
assessments for offenders and intervention programmes for offenders. 
5.4.2.  Social impact: 
• social costs: - 
• social benefits: + + + 
There would be a very substantial improvement in the positive social impact of fighting child 
sexual abuse and exploitation in general , as, on top of the improvement set out in option 3, 
better implementation and additional tools w ould make prosecution, victim protection, and 
prevention of this crime more effective. 
No additional social costs are identified compared with option 3. 
5.4.3.  Fundamental rights impact: 
• risk of interference in  fundamental rights: - - 
 
EN 43   EN • improvement in the fundamental rights situation: + + + 
Risk of interferences in fundamental rights woul d be involved in the exchange of DNA files, 
blocking access to child pornography on the internet , prohibitions on offenders to exercise 
certain activities, or intervention programmes for offenders. Their impact has been assessed 
under Options 2 and 3. 
In general, legislation comple mented by non legislative measures  would contribute to better 
protection of children’s rights, and would therefore result in  a significant positive impact on 
fundamental rights. 
5.4.4.  Relevance of the measures 
The relevance of the different measures is reflected in the tables included under 
options 2 and 3. 
6. COMPARING THE OPTIONS  
6.1. Summary table: costs and benefits 
 Costs (-) / Benefits (+) 
Policy option Economic impact Soci al impact Fundamental rights 
impact 
Policy option (1): No new EU action 0 0 0 
Policy option (2): 
Complement existing legislation with non-legislative measures - / + 0 / + - / + 
Policy option (3): 
New comprehensive legislation on prosecuting offenders, protecting victims and preventing offences - - / + + - / + + - / + + 
Policy option (4) 
New legislation on prosecuting offenders, protecting victims, and preventing offences (as in Option 3) plus non-legislative measures - - / + + + - /+ + + - - / + + + 
 
EN 44   EN  
6.2. Advantages and drawbacks of the policy options 
Policy options Advantages Drawbacks 
Policy option (1): 
No new EU action Problem may be addressed if 
Member States ratify the Convention within a limited 
period and implement it 
consistently Weaknesses of current legal 
framework and implementation persist 
Uncertainty about the extent and 
timing of ratification of the Convention  
EU legislation continues to be 
outdated in relation to the 
Council of Europe 
Policy option (2): 
Complement existing legislation with non-legislative measures Improved implementation of 
national legislation 
Involvement of civil society Improved national coordination Limited costs for EU and 
Member States Weaknesses of cu rrent EU legal 
framework persist 
EU legislation continues to be 
outdated in relation to the Convention 
Risk of interference in privacy 
concerning storing data on offenders and blocking without a legal basis 
Policy option (3): 
New legislation on prosecuting 
offenders, protecting victims, and preventing offences Legally binding rules covering 
prosecution, protection and 
prevention, mutually reinforcing their effectiveness 
National action and international 
cooperation facilitated in cross-border cases 
Ratification of the Convention 
facilitated Economic cost of some measures 
Higher risk of interference in 
fundamental rights 
Policy option (4) 
New legislation on prosecuting offenders, protecting victims, 
and preventing offences (as in 
Option 3) plus non-legislative measures Those of policy options (2) plus 
(3) Those of policy options (2) plus 
(3) 
6.3. Comparison of the options 
Option 1 (status quo) may provide substantial imp rovement if Member States sign, ratify and 
implement Convention CETS No. 201, as they  seem willing to do. However, the lengthy 
national ratification procedures in the absence of an EU legally binding framework and the 
lack of a vigorous monitoring mechanism make  uncertain when and to what extent the 
benefits of that Convention will put into practice. Option 2 woul d enhance the effectiveness in 
the implementation of the existing legal framew ork, but it would be insufficient to improve 
prosecution in a number of areas where a specific legal basis is required. 
 
EN 45   EN Option 3 would improve matters in comparison to  the current situation.  It would strengthen 
legislation in the areas covered by the current EU legislation on prosecution of the offenders 
and protection of child victims. It would also  address preventive measures, thus improving the 
protection of children in general.  The financial cost is expected to be outweighed by the social 
and economic benefit of more effi cient action against this crime. 
Option 4 would multiply the effectiveness of th e measures in option 2 and 3 by combining 
them and encouraging Member States to coope rate on setting up tools and acting to improve 
the implementation of the more comprehens ive legal framework been put in place. 
Options 3 and 4 represent the best approach to  the problems and achieve the objectives of the 
proposal. The preferred option woul d be option 4, followed by option 3. 
6.4. Added value of Option (4) 
6.4.1.  Compared with the current Framework Decision 
Option 4 shows the added value of a broader ap proach including criminal law and procedure 
on prosecution of offenders, victim support, a nd monitoring. In addition, the combination of 
legislative and non-legislative instruments enables Member St ates to better achieve the 
objectives, since the obligation to establish a legal framework for certain measures is 
complemented by guidance based on best pr actice and other tool s to improve its 
implementation. In particular, the following new provision would be made in the act or in a 
non-legislative measure: 
6.4.2.  Prosecution of offenders 
– criminalising serious forms of child se xual abuse and exploitation currently not 
covered by EU legislation, including new forms of se xual abuse and exploitation 
facilitated by the use of IT (legislation) 
– introducing new provisions to f acilitate investigation of o ffences and initiations of 
proceedings (legislation) 
– training and awareness raising for childre n and persons in regular contact with 
them, so that they know enough to recognise and to report sexual abuse, and for public officials to conduct proceedings in a child-friendly way (non-legislative) 
– more effective prosecution of child sexua l abusers or exploiters from the EU 
committing their crimes in a third country (‘sex tourism’). (legislation) 
– Exchanging experience among authoritie s on the implementation of Council 
Decision 2008/615/JHA for DNA files opened and kept for the investigation of 
child sexual abuse offences (non legislative). 
– exchange of information and experience with prosecuting offences: on forms of 
abuse which are difficult to combat, new fo rms of abuse involving cyberspace and 
IT; combating sexual abuse and exploitation taking place outside Member States and involving nationals or permanent re sidents as offenders  (non-legislative) 
 
EN 46   EN – setting up joint investigative teams and ju dicial coordination to investigate and 
prosecute child pornography cases involvi ng a number of Member States (non-
legislative) 
6.4.3.  Protection of victims 
– improvement of access to a legal remedy (legislation) 
– protection from negative consequences of  involvement in proceedings, such as 
trauma or punishment (legislation)  
– exchange of information and experience on measures other than criminal 
sanctions to protect victims in the best interests of the child, to protect their privacy, and to ensure short-, medium - and long-term support for victims, 
including through special funds using the proceeds of these offences. (non-legislative) 
– exchange of information and experience on  protecting victims, in particular to 
avoid re-victimisation through their participation in inve stigations and judicial 
proceedings (non-legislative) 
6.4.4.  Prevention of offences 
– individual risk assessment of the child sex offenders 
– obligation to offer intervention programmes or measures accessible to child sex 
offenders on a voluntary basis 
– measures focusing on dangerous offenders  adopted to diminish the risk of 
reoffending after serving the sentence (suc h as exclusion from certain activities) 
(legislation) 
– the establishment of mechanisms to ensure  that measures adopted to diminish the 
risk of reoffending after se rving the sentence (such as exclusion from certain 
activities) are applied consisten tly throughout the EU (legislation) 
– blocking by domestic Internet providers of access from the Member State’s 
territory to internet pages identified as containing or disseminating child pornography (legislation)  
– cooperation with the private sector, in particular the information and 
communication technology, tourism and trav el, banking and finance industries, 
and with civil society, to develop and implement policies to prevent sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of  children. (non-legislative) 
– ensuring coordination between different  actors involved in child protection 
(education and health, social  services, law enforcemen t and the judiciary) and 
setting up independent institutions to promote and protect children’s rights (non-legislative) 
– exchange of information and experience on preventing offences, in particular on 
intervention programmes and measures and measures focusing on offenders (such 
 
EN 47   EN as disqualification arising from criminal  convictions, prohibiti on from working or 
activity with minors) (non-legislative) 
6.4.5.  Monitoring of the phenomenon 
– setting up mechanisms for data collection or focal points to observe and evaluate 
the phenomenon of child sexual abuse a nd exploitation (non -legislative)  
6.4.6.  Compared to Council of Europe Convention CETS No 201 
Option (4) shows the following added value: 
– the establishment of mechanisms to ensu re that measures focusing on offenders 
adopted to diminish the risk of reoffe nding after serving the sentence (such as 
exclusion from certain activities) are applied consistently throughout the EU 
– blocking by domestic Internet providers of access from the Member State’s 
territory to internet pages identified as containing or disseminating child pornography (legislation)  
– other provisions identified in consultations with stakeholders as necessary to go 
beyond the level of protection or detail cont ained in the Convention: criminalising 
coercing a child into sexual relations w ith a third party, re moving the scope for 
Member States to make exceptions in the current Framework Decision on child 
pornography offences, addressing activ ities facilitating child pornography and 
child sex tourism, matching the level of penalties to the severity of the offences, criminalising child sexual  abuse online (webcam abuse), and introducing a non-
punishment clause and to free legal couns elling and free legal representation for 
child victims. 
7. M
ONITORING AND EVALUATION  
The core indicators of progress towards meeting the objectives of the proposal could be listed 
as follows:  
Objective Indicator 
General Objective: 
To prevent and combat offences 
against children, including child sexual abuse and child exploitation Number of child victims of sexual exploitation and 
abuse 
Number of offenders bei ng sentenced for different 
forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation crimes 
Severity of the penalties imposed A.1 To impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties on offenders 
List of behaviours constitu ting child sexual abuse and 
exploitation where no sanctions are imposed 
 
EN 48   EN Number of investigations opened and closed A.2 To facilitate the investigation of 
offences and the conduction of criminal proceedings Number of criminal proceedings brought and 
concluded with convictions 
Estimated number of persons travelling abroad who commit child sexual abuse and exploitation and are identified/tracked 
Number of offenders bei ng sentenced for different 
forms of child sexual abus e and exploitation crimes 
committed abroad A.3 To effectively prosecute abuse or exploitation committed abroad 
Severity of the penaltie s imposed for child sexual 
abuse and exploitation committed abroad 
Number of children reporting sexual abuse or exploitation B.1 To facilitate access by victims to legal remedies and protection measures 
Number of children participating in legal proceedings 
Number of child victims of sexual abuse or 
exploitation being subject to  sanctions for violations 
relating to their exploitation B.2 To ensure that victims of child sexual abuse and exploitation suffer no harm from participating in criminal investigations and proceedings Qualitative assessment of the trauma suffered by 
children participating in legal proceedings  
Number of persons without a criminal record of child 
sexual abuse having followed an intervention programme C.1 To promote access to intervention programmes and measures as a means of preventing repeat and first-time offences against children Recidivism rate for child sex offenders 
% of offenders having undergone a risk assessment 
before release 
Number of offenders being s ubject to special measures 
to reduce risks of re-offending (exclusion from activities, monitoring, etc) after release C.2 To ensure that appropriate 
measures are taken with regard to child sex offenders who continue to be dangerous after their release, and that they are effectively implemented throughout the EU. 
Qualitative auditing of mechanisms to exchange 
information on security measures among Member States’ authorities, and to ensure effective implementation throughout the EU 
Number of requests to acce ss websites containing child 
sexual abuse materials blocked by ISP C.3 To technically prevent or make more difficult to access and 
disseminate child pornography, especially on the internet Number of websites cont aining child sexual abuse 
materials 
 
EN 49   EN Number of files on the inte rnet (video, audio, photo) 
containing child sexual abuse material 
D.1 To create harmonised national mechanisms to measure the extent of such crime and to monitor the effectiveness of policy to fight child sexual abuse and exploitation Availability of the indicators above 
Availability of other information 
The evaluation arrangements will rely on the wil lingness of stakeholders  and Member States 
to collect and share this data. If the preferre d option 4 is chosen, systematic data could be 
collected at Member State level and coordina ted by the mechanisms for data collection and 
focal points. 
 
EN 50   EN ANNEX  
TABLE 1. E STIMATION OF COSTS OF RISK ASSE SSMENTS ON CONVICTED OFFENDERS 
(CFR SECTION 5.3.1) 
Country Population 
(1) average 
number of 
offenders for 
sexual crimes 
(rape) per year 
(No./100.000 
inhabitants) 
(2) estimated 
number of 
offenders / 
year 
(3) Cost of 
risk 
assessmen
t per 
offender 
(4) Price 
index
(5) Costs 
weighted Average 
cost per 
offender Equivalent 
average 
cost per 
offender in 
each 
country 
(weighted) Total costs 
of risk 
assessment 
for estimated 
offenders in 
each country 
EU 27 497.481.657 5,8 28.854       1.709 €   52.321.276 € 
BE 10.666.866   619   100 0 € 1.709 € 1.709 € 1.057.570 € 
BU 7.640.238   443   69,7 0 € 1.709 € 1.191 € 527.973 € 
CZ 10.381.130   602   81,2 0 € 1.709 € 1.388 € 835.743 € 
DK 5.475.791   318   139,4 0 € 1.709 € 2.383 € 756.801 € 
DE 82.221.808   4.769   99,3 0 € 1.709 € 1.697 € 8.094.842 € 
EE 1.340.935   78   83,6 0 € 1.709 € 1.429 € 111.144 € 
GR 11.214.992   650   95,3 0 € 1.709 € 1.629 € 1.059.654 € 
ES 45.283.259   2.626   100,4 0 € 1.709 € 1.716 € 4.507.581 € 
FR 63.753.140   3.698   117,4 0 € 1.709 € 2.007 € 7.420.648 € 
IE 4.419.859   256   121,8 0 € 1.709 € 2.082 € 533.738 € 
IT 59.618.114   3.458   110,6 0 € 1.709 € 1.891 € 6.537.406 € 
CY 794.580   46   89,9 0 € 1.709 € 1.537 € 70.822 € 
LV 2.270.894   132   83,6 0 € 1.709 € 1.429 € 188.224 € 
LT 3.366.357   195   77,4 0 € 1.709 € 1.323 € 258.329 € 
LU 483.799   28   100 0 € 1.709 € 1.709 € 47.966 € 
HU 10.045.000   583   89,8 0 € 1.709 € 1.535 € 894.331 € 
MT 410.584   24   84,8 0 € 1.709 € 1.450 € 34.520 € 
NL 16.404.282   951   111,5 0 € 1.709 € 1.906 € 1.813.444 € 
AT 8.331.930   483   107,8 0 € 1.709 € 1.843 € 890.505 € 
PL 38.115.641   2.211   80,7 0 € 1.709 € 1.379 € 3.049.642 € 
PT 10.617.575   616   92,2 0 € 1.709 € 1.576 € 970.573 € 
 
EN 51   EN RO 21.528.627   1.249   78,8 0 € 1.709 € 1.347 € 1.681.956 € 
SI 2.025.866   118   88,3 0 € 1.709 € 1.509 € 177.355 € 
SK 5.400.998   313   81,3 0 € 1.709 € 1.390 € 435.348 € 
FI 5.300.484   307   117,8 0 € 1.709 € 2.014 € 619.060 € 
SE 9.182.927   533 2.000 € 117 1. 709 € 1.709 € 2.000 € 1.065.220 € 
UK 61.185.981   3.549   143,1 0 € 1.709 € 2.446 € 8.680.879 € 
Notes:  
(1) Source: Eurostat 
(2) Source: European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics – 2006. Table 
1.2.2.6 – Police statistics: Offenders per 100.000 popul ation for rape (no distinction about 
sexual offences against children and no informa tion on other sexual offences is available), 
2003 (latest year available), mean of European  countries considered. The figure from police 
statistics (5,8) refers to information on offen ces recorded by the police. This figure has been 
preferred to the lower one on persons convi cted (2,2; table 3.2.1.6), since the resulting 
estimated number of offenders per country app ears more commensurate to fragmentary data 
on convicted child sexual abuse offenders provi ded by different Member States for recent 
years (575 for Belgium, 132 for Cyprus, 2 03 for Slovenia, 386 for Sweden; but less 
commensurate for Cyprus: 12-13). Available at: 
http://www.europeansourcebook.org/esb3_Full.pdf (3) Results from multiplying (1)*(2)/100.000 (4) Source: Response by the Swedis h Government to the Commission 
(5) Source: European Commission 
T
ABLE 2. E STIMATION OF COSTS OF INTERVEN TION PROGRAMMES FOR OFFENDERS 
(CFR SECTION 5.3.1) 
Country Population 
(1) average 
number of 
offenders 
for sexual 
crimes 
(rape) per 
year 
(No./100.0
00 
inhabitants) 
(2) estimated 
number of 
offenders / 
year 
(3) Cost of 
interventio
n 
programm
es per 
offender 
(4) Price 
index 
weigh
ting 
(5) Costs 
weighted Average 
cost per 
offender Equivalent 
average 
cost per 
offender in 
each 
country 
(weighted) Total costs 
of 
intervention 
programmes 
for estimated 
offenders in 
each country 
EU 27 497.481.657 5,8 28.854       6.213 €   190.162.384 
€ 
BE 10.666.866   619   100 0 € 6.213 € 6.213 € 3.843.751 € 
 
EN 52   EN BU 7.640.238   443   69,7 0 € 6.213 € 4.330 € 1.918.925 € 
CZ 10.381.130   602   81,2 0 € 6.213 € 5.045 € 3.037.520 € 
DK 5.475.791   318   139,4 0 € 6.213 € 8.661 € 2.750.604 € 
DE 82.221.808   4.769   99,3 0 € 6.213 € 6.169 € 29.420.814 € 
EE 1.340.935   78   83,6 0 € 6.213 € 5.194 € 403.954 € 
GR 11.214.992   650   95,3 0 € 6.213 € 5.921 € 3.851.326 € 
ES 45.283.259   2.626   100,4 0 € 6.213 € 6.238 € 16.382.863 € 
FR 63.753.140   3.698   117,4 0 € 6.213 € 7.294 € 26.970.444 € 
IE 4.419.859   256   121,8 0 € 6.213 € 7.567 € 1.939.877 € 
IT 59.618.114   3.458   110,6 0 € 6.213 € 6.871 € 23.760.292 € 
CY 794.580   46   89,9 0 € 6.213 € 5.585 € 257.404 € 
LV 2.270.894   132   83,6 0 € 6.213 € 5.194 € 684.103 € 
LT 3.366.357   195   77,4 0 € 6.213 € 4.809 € 938.900 € 
LU 483.799   28   100 0 € 6.213 € 6.213 € 174.335 € 
HU 10.045.000   583   89,8 0 € 6.213 € 5.579 € 3.250.459 € 
MT 410.584   24   84,8 0 € 6.213 € 5.268 € 125.463 € 
NL 16.404.282   951   111,5 0 € 6.213 € 6.927 € 6.590.988 € 
AT 8.331.930   483   107,8 0 € 6.213 € 6.697 € 3.236.554 € 
PL 38.115.641   2.211   80,7 0 € 6.213 € 5.014 € 11.083.966 € 
PT 10.617.575   616   92,2 0 € 6.213 € 5.728 € 3.527.562 € 
RO 21.528.627   1.249   78,8 0 € 6.213 € 4.896 € 6.113.093 € 
SI 2.025.866   118   88,3 0 € 6.213 € 5.486 € 644.599 € 
SK 5.400.998   313   81,3 0 € 6.213 € 5.051 € 1.582.279 € 
FI 5.300.484   307   117,8 0 € 6.213 € 7.319 € 2.249.983 € 
SE 9.182.927   533 8.350 € 117 7. 137 € 6.213 € 7.269 € 3.871.555 € 
UK 61.185.981   3.549 7.749 € 143,1 5. 415 € 6.213 € 8.891 € 31.550.771 € 
AUS    6.829 € 112,2 6.087 €    
Notes:  
(1) Source: Eurostat 
 
EN 53   EN (2) Source: European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics – 2006. Table 
1.2.2.6 – Police statistics: Offenders per 100.000 popul ation for rape (no distinction about 
sexual offences against children and no informa tion on other sexual offences is available), 
2003 (latest year available), mean of European  countries considered. The figure from police 
statistics (5,8) refers to information on offen ces recorded by the police. This figure has been 
preferred to the lower one on persons convi cted (2,2; table 3.2.1.6), since the resulting 
estimated number of offenders per country app ears more commensurate to fragmentary data 
on convicted child sexual abuse offenders pr ovided by different Member States for recent 
years (575 for Belgium, 132 for Cyprus, 2 03 for Slovenia, 386 for Sweden; but less 
commensurate for Cyprus: 12-13). Available at: 
http://www.europeansourcebook.org/esb3_Full.pdf (3) Results from multiplying (1)*(2)/100.000 (4) Source: - Response by the Swedish Government to the Commission; - Information relating to the Sex Offende r Treatment Programmes (SOTP) in the UK, 
available at: 
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/abou t-us/freedom-of-informati on/released-information/foi-
archive-offender-management/3400-sex- treatment-programme?view=Binary  
- Cost per treated offender in Australia in 1998 Australian Dollars, updat ed to 2008 prices in 
Euro. Source: Shanahan, M., and Donato, R ., ‘Counting the cost: es timating the economic 
benefit of pedophile treatment programs’, in Child Abuse and Neglect, Vol. 25, Issue 4, 2001. 
(5) Source: European Commission