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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
report 33 and the fact that they have sought to collaborate on such a report demonstrates the relationship
and a certain overlap between the stated fields in which reports are produced, and the issue of violence
against children, including sexual violence. Some of these various areas of overlap will be discussed in
this report, and the common denominator is the protection of children from sexual violence.
Structure of the report
The aim of this initial report is to provide some insight into the phenomenon of child pornography. The
current state of affairs is also broadly analysed. The core theme within the analysis is that the approach
towards tackling child pornography is inextricably linked to the overall approach towards tackling sexual
violence against children, and must form part of this. At the present time, ample attention is already
being paid to the structure of the policy on child pornography, specifically with regard to the repressive
strategy. Considerations are being made regarding the most effective way of allocating the police capacity
involved in the programme of measures, at a central and regional level, as described in the section on
detection in Chapter 3. However, an effective programme consists of more than just repressive action
alone. Bodies other than the police and the judicial authorities have responsibilities in this area, as well;
these other bodies will also be discussed in the following chapters.
Chapter 1 ‘The phenomenon of child pornography’
This chapter forms the response to an extensive literature study, which enabled us to gain an insight
into the complexity of the phenomenon. In this regard, it is important to recognise that the subject
concerned provokes a great many emotions in society, which can easily give rise to the formation of
an incomplete or inaccurate picture. It is precisely for this reason that, for the sake of the efficacy of
the policy, it is necessary to take the information about the phenomenon that is currently available
as a basis, as much as possible. In any case, that information shows that this issue concerns an extraordinarily
varied and multiform phenomenon. The legal context will be described, and the nature
of the phenomenon will be interpreted as a social phenomenon by investigating the various aspects
in greater detail, namely perpetrators, victims and technology. Based upon the various ways in which
individuals can be perpetrators and victims, combined with the developments in the technological
domain, we clarify the actual forms that child pornography can take. We will also devote attention to
the question of the extent of the phenomenon, a question that is important but that can hardly ever
be answered. The number of perpetrators, the number of victims and the quantity of the material cannot
be expressed in figures, although it is clear that the phenomenon of child pornography is growing
exponentially. Furthermore, we will provide an overview of the way in which the government’s vision
and social attitudes with regard to the phenomenon have evolved from the end of the 1960s to the
present day. The latter period of that timescale is characterised by the rapidly increasing importance of
ICT. This report will describe the influence that this has had upon the capacity of being a perpetrator
and the potential of becoming victimized. The fact that is of key importance here is that the Internet
has become a pre-eminently facilitating medium for child abuse material and that at the same time an
important question is raised, namely the extent to which ICT actually provides new opportunities to
protect children from sexual violence.
33 Joint Report of the Special <strong>Rapporteur</strong> on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against <strong>Child</strong>ren, UN Doc A/
HRC/16/56, 7 March 2011.