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2 The government agenda
2.1 Introduction
Chapter 1 states that when material constituting child pornography is discovered, it usually means
that sexual violence against children is taking place or has taken place: child abuse material is more
than simply information constituting a criminal offence. The criminalisation of child pornography
has its foundations in the protection of children from sexual abuse. <strong>Child</strong>ren need to be protected by
putting an end to the abuse and by providing assistance. Although child abuse material is primarily
of a digital nature, the offenders and victims exist in both the offline and online worlds, meaning
that the phenomenon of child pornography has both analogue and digital components relating to a
sexual offence.
This chapter will focus on the policy initiatives that are intended to protect children from sexual
violence, as well as upon the policy strategy for dealing with child pornography. What is relevant
here is the question as to what extent the digital component and the aspect child pornography play a
role in (or is integrated into) the policy for combating sexual violence against children. International
developments and events in other countries, and the extent to which these have influenced developments
in terms of policy in the Netherlands, will be discussed. This chapter begins with an overview
of policy developments in the Netherlands in the areas mentioned above, and provides an insight
into the measures that have been taken over the past decades, which, in part, form the foundations
for the current policy. A number of relevant programmes that have since come to an end (some of
these were concluded some time ago now), could still serve as inspiration for the policy that is to be
developed today.
Following a description of the developments that have taken place since the early 1980s, the current
policy agenda will be explained, and the activities that the various ministries are currently developing
– individually or jointly, in a number of combinations – will be examined in detail. The main idea
behind this is that the task of tackling child pornography needs to be carried out from the perspective
that children need to be protected from sexual violence. This not only comprises a task for the Ministry
of Security and Justice in terms of combating child pornography, but also for other government bodies
in terms of protecting children. Policy with regard to measures for tackling child pornography needs
to form an integrated component of the policy with regard to measures for combating sexual violence
against children. This does not therefore merely involve (repressive) measures to tackle the production,
distribution and possession of child abuse material, but it also encompasses preventive measures. For
example, policy that is directed towards the safe use of the Internet by children may also be able to have
an indirect effect on preventing the production of child abuse images.