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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
ones that have been examined in the greatest detail. This is not surprising, however, in view of the
fact that Article 240b of the Dutch Criminal Code by definition forms the basic principle of action for
the police, the Public Prosecution Service, the judicial authorities and (partly) the probation service.
Nevertheless, measures to monitor convicted sex offenders who are returning to society having served
their sentence, for example, are not specifically targeted at those convicted of offences related to child
pornography. This means that within the context of this report, in order to gain an insight into implementation
in practice, the perspective must first of all be broadened to include the monitoring of those
convicted of sexual offences against minors in general. Then the perspective must be narrowed to focus
upon persons convicted in cases involving child pornography. In this regard, the question then, for example,
is the extent to which a digital context is taken into account in the monitoring of convicted sex
offenders. This also applies to preventative measures and care provision for victims. Likewise, there is
no specific implementation policy in these areas with regard to the question of how to deal with child
pornography.
Chapter 4 ‘Conclusions and recommendations’
Finally, the report states which conclusions can be drawn from the previous chapters and what recommendations
must be associated with these. In effect, this report concerns one core message:
<strong>Child</strong>ren are entitled to protection from all forms of sexual violence. The approach towards tackling child pornography
must form part of an integrated approach towards tackling sexual violence against children. Connection,
coordination and monitoring form essential elements of that approach.
The necessity to ensure connection and coordination is in keeping with the Explanatory Memorandum
to the Act approving the aforementioned Lanzarote Convention on the protection of children
against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. 35 In this memorandum, the government wholeheartedly
subscribed to the purpose of the Convention, and stated how all elements from the strategy stated in
the Convention will be implemented in this country. The coordinating task arising from the Lanzarote
Convention was assigned to the Ministry of Justice and the Programme Ministry for Youth and Family, but
has now been assigned to the Ministry of Security and Justice and the Ministry of Public Health, Welfare &
Sport. As far as their practical implementation is concerned, however, these divided responsibilities for
the broad domain of sexual abuse of children, including child pornography, hardly ever converge back
together. The stated policy initiatives and provisions often exist separately from one another.
The aforementioned situation provides reason to make the following recommendations: to make provisions
for an integrated approach towards tackling sexual abuse, which will fully encompass a programme
of measures to tackle child pornography; to ensure coordination to enable such a programme to be
organised and implemented; to set up an independent monitoring system and to embed all of this in
law to ensure continuity.
The foundation for this core message is laid in the following chapters and this core message will be
made concrete in Chapter 4. The aim of this report is to provide some pointers for the organisation of
the integrated approach to protect children from sexual violence and to indicate the way in which a link
can be found between the analogue and digital elements in this approach.
35 Parliamentary Papers II 2008/09, 31 808, no.3.