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Conclusions and recommendations
and within the processes, where this is necessary. Furthermore, it is also important that links exist between
policy and implementation, through which policy can be translated into practice and vice versa.
Connections between policy and implementation
There are, in any case, several good examples of the latter connections – the links that now exist between
policy and implementation. The Programme of Improvements in Tackling <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong>,
developed following a joint analysis of the problems in the approach to this issue by the police and the
Public Prosecution Service, fulfils an important role for the practical implementation of the repressive
approach. The Internet Safety Platform, administered by ECP-EPN, is an example of an organisation in
which the government’s policy was able to be translated into practice and vice versa, in this case with
reference to public-private sector partnership initiatives in the field of ICT.
Connections within and between processes
Many collaborative initiatives have been developed over the years, which have resulted in effective connections
being formed. So-called scenario teams exist, which respond by initiating the provision of assistance
within a region in the event that (it is suspected that) serious child (sexual) abuse has taken place,
as experience proves that situations involving serious child (sexual) abuse are very complex and require all
institutions to work closely together. Consequently, connections are formed within the assistance services.
However, such scenario teams do not operate in all regions. Multi-disciplinary teams also exist, which form
connections between the processes. An example of this is the Tilburg Safety House. Here, a large number
of organisations work together under one roof, combining an approach that is in-keeping with criminal
law, attention and care for perpetrators, and the provision of assistance to victims. Safety Houses are not
aimed at sex offenders in all regions. The Youth and Family Centres also play an important connecting role.
The protocol ‘Reports of child abuse sent by Youth Care Agencies to the Police and the Public Prosecution
Service’ is a fine example of cooperation between an organisation that provides assistance and the police.
Connections between the approach towards combating child pornography and the approach towards
combating sexual violence
Despite the positive examples of connections described above, it is apparent that the connections that exist
between the approach towards tackling child pornography and the approach towards tackling sexual
violence are still insufficient, not only in so far as the policy agenda is concerned, but also in the various
implementation processes in general. In the provision of assistance to victims of sexual violence and in the
after-care for convicted sex offenders, the understanding that the sexual violence in question can, in part,
also have comprised behaviours that constitute a criminal offence in relation to child pornography, is lacking.
In simple terms, this means that these two notions in these processes are, wrongly, not considered in
parallel with one another. The route linking sexual abuse to child pornography is, therefore, not pursued.
Vice versa, the route leading from child pornography (child abuse material) to sexual abuse is not always
pursued either. In particular, this is often the case in the many cases in which sufficient information is available
in order to take a suspect to court for possession of child abuse material. The case is then dealt with and
the suspect may be prosecuted, with no further investigations being carried out into the possibility of sexual
abuse. In this case, it is not so much a lack of understanding, but rather a lack of capacity and priority that
stand in the way of pursuing the route towards the offender and the victim of the underlying sexual abuse.
4.4 Specification and recommendations
The above findings present an image of a complex phenomenon that is extremely extensive and which
cannot be controlled solely by repressive means. Important steps have been taken to give substance to
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