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3 Implementation
3.1 Introduction
In Chapter 1 we described the variation that exists amongst perpetrators, victims and technology in relation
to the phenomenon of child pornography. The picture that this creates is therefore a multi-faceted
one. That diversity within the phenomenon must be reflected in policy and implementation. However,
the fact that child pornography is closely associated with – and sometimes forms part of – other types of
sexual violence against children, also has implications for policy and implementation. Although child
abuse material exists primarily in digital format, perpetrators and victims exist in both the offline and
online worlds, and consequently the phenomenon of child pornography has both an analogue and a
digital element.
The previous chapter provided an overview of the government’s policy agenda over the past decades,
which sought to create cohesion between the strategy to tackle child pornography, specifically based
upon Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code (as it currently stands), and the policy that aims to protect
children from sexual violence, (whether or not) as a form of child abuse. In terms of policy, the strategy
to tackle child pornography is based upon a narrow legal framework, whilst the efforts to tackle sexual
violence are implemented on a broader scale. However, elements of the strategy to tackle child pornography
(the digital aspects of sexual violence against children, the digital environment used by the
producer and possessor of such material, and the online world of both perpetrators and victims) hardly
ever form an integral part of the programmes that aim to tackle sexual violence against children. Yet
it is imperative that every effort is made to achieve cohesion and coordination between the different
programmes, and that the digital element is also included, if an effective policy in relation to children’s
(sexual) safety is to be achieved.
As far as protecting children from sexual violence is concerned, the focus upon the digital element also
forms one of the cornerstones of the Lanzarote Convention. 1 This Convention is comprehensive and
multi-disciplinary in nature. In addition to criminal provisions and provisions imposing sanctions, it
incorporates preventative and protective measures, as well as measures that ensure national coordination
and international cooperation. 2 The added value primarily lies in the fact that in ensuring the
1 The adoption of this Convention was reason for the Netherlands to adapt its public decency legislation,
whereby digital aspects concerning the protection of children’s sexual integrity played
a relevant role (see §1.3 with regard to Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code, corruption and
grooming).
2 Article 10 of the Lanzarote Convention.