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Conclusions and recommendations
The extent of the phenomenon of child pornography – perpetrators, victims and material – is unknown.
As far as the number of perpetrators and the quantity of child abuse material are concerned, it may be
argued that the extent of the problem is increasing. This means that we must seek a strategy to tackle
child pornography both within and beyond the criminal justice process. It is not known what proportion
of minor victims of sexual abuse are also victims of child pornography, nor can any judgments be
made with regard to the numbers of minors who are victims of phenomena such as sexting and contact
made online for a sexual purpose (grooming). It is therefore necessary to investigate these areas in the
Netherlands in order to develop and implement evidence-based policy.
<strong>Child</strong> pornography is closely associated with other forms of sexual abuse or sexual violence against children
that is perpetrated in both the analogue and digital worlds. The legal framework has been useful in
defining the area of investigation – Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code defines child pornography
itself – but it is not the only perspective that can be used to address the subject. The actual problem
involves protecting children from sexual violence. In order to achieve this, however, an effective understanding
of the phenomenon is indispensible.
4.2.2 The government agenda
For the purpose of this report, the policy responses of the government to the development of the phenomenon
of child pornography have been investigated. Attention has been devoted to policies that
are explicitly directed towards child pornography, but also to programmes that are directed towards
child abuse in more general terms, including sexual violence against children, as well as the various
programmes in the field of domestic violence. Sexual violence against children also forms a part of
this issue. The extent to which the programmes mentioned are, or could be, of indirect importance
in tackling child pornography has also been considered. From this point of reference, it appears that
the policy only partially reflects the development, complexity and context of the phenomenon of child
pornography.
Current policy has been examined, but the way in which the governmental policy has developed over
the past decades and the extent to which lessons can be learnt from prior policies have also been analysed.
What is striking is that with regard to child pornography, a major focus has been placed upon an
incident-driven policy. The only integrated programme to address the sexual abuse of children, in which
child abuse material formed a component, was the <strong>National</strong> Action Plan for Combating Sexual Abuse
of <strong>Child</strong>ren (NAPS). The NAPS ended in December 2002. After 2002, the framework for cooperation that
was created through the NAPS was no longer maintained, in the sense that child pornography was no
longer integrated into a programme aimed at combating sexual violence against children. Continuity
with regard to this component was therefore absent. The intention of the NAPS was to integrate the
measures for tackling child pornography, but as a result of the NAPS ceasing to exist, it seems as if the
digital and analogue strands of the policy have come apart. Within the policy, child pornography tends to
be branded as cybercrime and is therefore merely to be dealt with by the judicial authorities. The Minister
for Youth and Families emphasised this in response to Parliamentary questions from Member of Parliament
Verdonk, 1 with the remark that this topic primarily falls within the remit of the Ministry of Justice. 2
1 Parliamentary Papers II 2006/07, 31 001, no.16.
2 The name of the Ministry of Justice was changed into Ministry of Security and Justice in October 2010.
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