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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
can prevent a great deal of harm at an early stage, both for the victims and the perpetrators”, explained the Director of the
NIP. 25 The Minister for Public Health, Welfare & Sport stated in response to this that although expert care is
available for paedophiles who do not receive this care in a forensic capacity, it has proved very difficult in
practice to ensure that this target group receives treatment, due to the “immense taboo” that exists in relation
to this disorder. 26 Although the current prevention measures in the Netherlands are not (yet) geared
towards these risk groups, plans are in place to introduce three secondary prevention measures aimed at
perpetrators in the Netherlands. These potential measures will be discussed in the present sub-section.
Helplines
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, adults who have concerns about their own or another individual’s
sexual thoughts or behaviour can consult the anonymous helpline (by telephone and e-mail) of the Stop
it Now! organisation (described in §3.3.1.1 for help and advice. Almost a quarter 27 of the clients of Stop it
Now! who call on their own behalf have not yet committed a sexual offence (online or offline). 28 Tailored
advice is provided to these clients, which aims to prevent children from being sexually abused or online
behaviour from getting out of control. The fact that 85% of these potential abusers are not known to
the authorities 29 emphasises the importance of an anonymous helpline of this type for this risk group.
The De Waag forensic clinic and Meldpunt Kinderporno op Internet [Hotline Combating <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong>
on the Internet] are planning to introduce the British concept in the Netherlands in early 2012. 30 Just as
in Great Britain, the aim of an anonymous helpline and therapy sessions must be to prevent potential
perpetrators from committing an offence.
Preventing underage victims from becoming perpetrators
Perpetrators of child sexual abuse have in a number of cases been victims of abuse themselves in the
past. For this reason, support for children who have been sexually abused can play an important role in
the secondary prevention of perpetrators. 31 In the First Progress Report on tackling child pornography,
March 2011, 32 the then Minister of Justice wrote that more time is needed in order to ascertain the extent
to which prevention of the development of capacity to become a perpetrator is explicitly addressed in
the treatment programmes for underage victims.
25 See the NIP website, www.psynip.nl/nieuwsberichten/website/hulpverlening-aan-pedofielen-schiette-kort
(viewed 10 August 2011).
26 Parliamentary Papers II 2010/11, 1802. For that matter, it seems that no policy exists for reaching and treating
individuals with a sexual preference for children who have not yet committed any abuse.
27 Twenty-three percent of the adults who called on their own behalf in the period June 2005 to November
2009 stated that they had not yet committed a sexual offence. Of this group, 19% were concerned
about their offline behaviour (hands on sexual abuse of children), whilst 4% were concerned about
their behaviour on the Internet (child pornography). Stop it Now! Helpline Report 2005-2009.
28 For a more detailed description see §1.2.2.
29 Stop it Now!, 2010, p.17.
30 Information supplied verbally by Meldpunt Kinderporno op Internet, 17 March 2011; information supplied
verbally by Stop it Now! during a working visit, 9 March 2011; Ministry of Justice, First Progress Report
2011 on the tackling of child pornography, 4 March 2011; Preventatieve hulp voor potentiële pedoseksueel [Preventative
help measures for potential paedosexuals], Algemeen Dagblad, 28 June 2011.
31 Smallbone et al., 2008, p.205.
32 The progress in tackling child pornography, 4 March 2011. Parliamentary Papers II 2010/11. 32 500 VI, no.86.