Changes from report parliamentary committee draft to plenary report

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) the offence was committed against a child in a particularly vulnerable situation, such as a young child, a child with a mental or physical disability, in a situation of dependence or in a state of physical or mental incapacity;

AddedRecital 34 b (new): (34b) Member States should ensure that existing and new reporting mechanisms, including through information and communication technologies, are easily accessible, safe, child-appropriate, confidential, and free of charge. Third-party reporting should be offered as an option to victims to facilitate their access to justice, in particular when they fear repercussions in case they reported the crime in person or when they face other barriers to contacting the competent authorities directly. Adequate resources and staff should be made available to ensure correct support and care, and reporting mechanisms should be inserted within specialised interagency structures to combat child sexual abuse.

RemovedArticle 11 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new): (j a) the offence was motivated by one or more of the grounds protected under Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and resulted in either direct or indirect discrimination contrary to Union law.

AddedRecital 35: (35) Rules on jurisdiction should be amended to ensure that sexual abusers or sexual exploiters of children from the Union face prosecution even if they commit their crimes outside the Union, in particular via so-called sex tourism. The sexual exploitation of children in travel or tourism should be understood as the sexual exploitation of children by a person or persons who travel from their usual environment to a destination abroad where they have sexual contact with children and partake in offences as described in this Directive. Where the sexual exploitation of children in travel or tourism takes place outside the Union, Member States are encouraged to seek to increase, through the available national and international instruments including bilateral or multilateral treaties on extradition, mutual assistance or a transfer of the proceedings, cooperation with third countries and international organisations with a view to combating sexual exploitation of children abroad. Member States should foster open dialogue and communication with countries outside the Union in order to be able to prosecute perpetrators, under the relevant national legislation, who travel outside the Union borders for the purposes of the sexual exploitation of children in travel or tourism .

RemovedArticle 12 – paragraph 2: 2. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that employers, when recruiting a person for professional or organised voluntary activities involving direct and regular contacts with children, and organisations acting in the public interest against child sexual abuse, when recruiting staff, consultants and volunteers, are required to request information in accordance with national law by way of any appropriate means, such as access upon request or via the person concerned, of the existence of criminal convictions for any of the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 9 , entered in the criminal record or of the existence of any disqualification from exercising activities involving direct and regular contacts with children arising from those criminal convictions.

AddedRecital 36: (36) Measures to protect child victims in a comprehensive manner should be adopted in their best interest, taking into account an assessment of their needs. Effective child protection requires a whole of society approach. With the child at the centre, all relevant authorities and services should work together to protect and support the child, in their best interests. The “Barnahus” model of providing a child-friendly environment staffed with specialists from all relevant disciplines is currently the most advanced example of a child-friendly approach to justice and to avoiding revictimisation. The relevant provisions of this Directive are built on the principles of that model. That model aims to ensure that all children involved in child abuse or child sexual exploitation investigations benefit from a high-quality assessment in child-friendly settings, appropriate psychosocial support and child protective services. This Directive attempts to ensure that all Member States uphold these victim-oriented principles and put in place age-appropriate and multi-disciplinary child-protection systems to provide effective care and legal support to child victims, although it does not require the Member States to implement the Barnahus model as such. Where medical examinations of the child are necessary for the purposes of the criminal investigations, for example to gather evidence of abuse, these should be limited to the strictly necessary in order to limit retraumatisation. This obligatio…

RemovedArticle 14 – title: Penalties on legal persons

AddedRecital 36 a (new): (36a) It is essential for Member States to establish multidisciplinary structures to integrate expertise from law enforcement, child protection agencies, healthcare professionals, educators and mental health specialists. Those structures should be tailored to addressing the complexities of online exploitation and should encompass swift and coordinated responses to identify, investigate and prosecute offenders while safeguarding the well-being of victims. Those structures, which should be based on the Barnahus model, should be supported by the extensive training, education and professional development of staff and should facilitate the establishment of physical support centres. They should enable victims to receive treatment and participate in criminal proceedings available in one place without the risk of repeated re-traumatisation. Those structures are the most efficient approach for supporting child victims of abuse due to their holistic, child-centred, and multidisciplinary nature. Promoting the standards of the Barnahus model is essential for ensuring the well-being and rights of child victims. To ensure better reporting, Member States should be encouraged to diversify reporting mechanisms, taking into account the diverse and evolving manifestations of the crimes and the child’s needs and specific vulnerabilities.

AddedRecital 37: (37) Member States should provide tailored and comprehensive short- and long-term assistance to child victims and survivors irrespective of whether they have filed a formal complaint. Survivors should be understood as a person who has experienced sexual violence as a child, irrespective of their legal status and their recognition as a victim of a crime by a legal system. Any harm caused by the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a child is significant and should be addressed as soon as possible after the first contact of the victim with the authorities. Immediate assistance to victims before and during criminal investigations and proceedings is essential to limit the long-term trauma linked to the abuse suffered. To facilitate the swift provision of assistance, including the identification of the relevant support services, Member States should issue guidelines and protocols for healthcare, education and social service professionals, including the staff at helplines . Because of the nature of the harm caused by sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, such assistance should continue for as long as necessary for the child’s physical and psychological recovery and may last into adulthood if necessary. Assistance and advice should be considered to be extended to parents , carers or guardians of the child victims where they are not involved as suspects in relation to the offence concerned, in order to help them to assist child victims throughout the proceedings.

AddedRecital 39: (39) Directive 2012/29/EU establishes a set of victims’ rights in criminal proceedings, including the right to protection and the right to receive a decision on compensation from the offender and any organisation liable for child sexual abuse and exploitation. The proposal for the revision of the Victims’ Rights Directive provides for targeted amendments to all victims’ rights. In addition to the rights established under that Directive, child victims of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse material should be given access to legal counselling and, in accordance with the role of victims in the relevant justice systems, to legal representation, including for the purpose of claiming compensation. Such legal counselling and legal representation could also be provided by the competent authorities for the purpose of claiming compensation from the State. The purpose of legal counselling is to enable victims to be informed and receive advice about the various possibilities open to them. Legal counselling should be provided by a person having received appropriate legal training without necessarily being a lawyer. Legal counselling and, in accordance with the role of victims in the relevant justice systems, legal representation should be provided free of charge, at least when the victim does not have sufficient financial resources, in a manner consistent with the internal procedures of Member States. The victims' right to compensation should not be subject to a limit…

AddedRecital 40: (40) The EU Centre for child protection (‘EU Centre’), established by Regulation […/…/EU laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse]16 , should support Member States’ prevention and assistance to victims’ efforts and obligations under this Directive. Laying down those rules and establishing the EU Centre without undue delay is of paramount importance in order to streamline and enhance the multiple efforts to prevent and combat child sexual abuse across the Union. It should facilitate the exchange of best practices in the Union and beyond. The EU Centre should encourage dialogue between all relevant stakeholders to help the development of state-of-the-art prevention programmes. Moreover, by cooperating with Member States and contributing to the standardisation of data collection concerning child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation throughout the Union, the EU Centre should be an asset in supporting evidence-based policy on both prevention and assistance to victims. Member States should establish national authorities or equivalent entities as they consider most appropriate according to their internal organisation, taking into account the need for a minimal structure with identified tasks, capable of carrying out assessments of trends in child sexual abuse, of gathering statistics, of measuring the results of actions to prevent and combat child sexual abuse, and of regularly reporting on such trends, statistics and results. Such national authorities should serve…

AddedRecital 42: (42) Member States should undertake action to prevent or prohibit acts related to the promotion of child sexual abuse and the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children in travel or tourism . Different preventative measures could be considered, such as the drawing up and reinforcement of a code of conduct and self-regulatory mechanisms in the tourism industry, the setting-up of a code of ethics or ‘quality labels’ or establishing an explicit policy for tourist organisations combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children in travel or tourism . Member States should leverage the tools at their disposal under EU law, national law, and international agreements, for the purpose of preventing the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children in travel or tourism through or towards their territory, most notably by taking appropriate action upon reception of relevant information from third countries, including conducting further checks or issuing a refusal of entry in the context of the Regulation (EU) 2018/1861 on the establishment, operation and use of the Schengen Information System (SIS) in the field of border checks17 .

AddedRecital 43: (43) Member States should establish or strengthen policies to prevent sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, including measures to discourage and reduce the demand that fosters all forms of sexual exploitation of children, and measures to reduce the risk of children becoming victims, by means of, information and awareness-raising campaigns, including for parents, volunteers, carers, teachers, educators, child protection professionals, social and foster care professionals, trainers coaches, legal professionals, family court judges, front-line police officers, healthcare professionals, religious community leaders and society at large, and research and education programmes including sexual education. In such initiatives, Member States should adopt a child-rights based approach. Care should be taken to ensure that awareness-raising campaigns aimed at children are appropriate and sufficiently easy to understand , and tailored to the specific needs of children of different age groups, including pre-school children as well as children who are particularly vulnerable, including children with mental, intellectual, sensory or physical disabilities, children in contexts of migration, both unaccompanied or accompanied, or children who do not conform to conventional norms relating to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or sex characteristics . Prevention measures should take a holistic approach to the phenomenon of child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, by a…

AddedRecital 43 a (new): (43a) Member States should ensure that law enforcement authorities investigate without undue delay attempts to solicit children for sexual purposes and that child victims of such solicitation attempts are effectively referred to relevant support services for assistance and protection.

AddedRecital 45: deleted

AddedRecital 50: (50) Where the danger posed by the offenders and the possible risks of repetition of the offences make it appropriate, convicted offenders should be temporarily or permanently prevented from exercising at least professional and voluntary activities involving direct and regular contacts with children or within organisations that work for children or organisations acting in the public interest on the fight against child sexual abuse . Employers when recruiting for a post involving direct and regular contact with children should request information on existing convictions for sexual offences against children entered in the criminal record, or of existing disqualifications. For the purposes of this Directive, the term ‘employers’ should also cover persons running an organisation that is active in volunteer work related to the supervision or care of children involving direct and regular contact with children, including community settings such as schools, hospitals, social care services, sports clubs or religious communities . The way such information is delivered, such as for example access via the person concerned, and the precise content of the information, the meaning of organised voluntary activities and direct and regular contact with children should be laid down in accordance with national law. However, the information transmitted from one competent authority to another should at least contain all relevant records stored by any Member State in their national criminal records…

AddedRecital 52: (52) For information not or not yet available in the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) ECRIS, for example information concerning offending third country nationals until the time Regulation 2019/816 of the European Parliament and of the Council20 is fully implemented, Member States should make use of other channels to provide all relevant information to employers that recruit for a post involving direct and regular contact with children. The aim of this Directive is not to harmonise rules concerning consent of the person concerned when exchanging information from the criminal registers, i.e. whether or not to require such consent. Whether the consent is required or not under national law, this Directive does not establish any new obligation to change the national law and national procedures in this respect.

AddedArticle 1 – paragraph 1: This Directive establishes minimum rules concerning the definition of criminal offences and sanctions in the area of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, child sexual abuse material and solicitation of children for sexual purposes, including if committed by means of information and communication technology. It also introduces provisions to strengthen the prevention of those criminal offences and the protection of the victims thereof.

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 2 a (new): (2 a) “consent” means any indication of agreement to a sexual activity given voluntarily and clearly, and in an informed and unambiguous manner, by a child above the age of sexual consent, as a result of that child’s free will, assessed in the context of the surrounding circumstances;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point a: (a) any material that depicts a child engaged in real or simulated sexually explicit conduct;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point b: (b) any representation, by whatever means, of the intimate parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point c: (c) any material that depicts any person appearing to be a child engaged in real or simulated sexually explicit conduct or any depiction of the intimate parts of any person appearing to be a child, for primarily sexual purposes;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point d: (d) any realistic images, pseudophotographs, reproductions or representations of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct or of the intimate parts of a child, for primarily sexual purposes, regardless of the method of creation or manipulation, including by using artificial intelligence, deepfake technologies, or augmented, extended, or virtual reality settings;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 3 – point e: (e) any material, regardless of its form, intended to provide advice, guidance or instructions on how to commit any of the offences referred to in Articles 3 to 8b, including any instruction for artificial intelligence systems;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 4: (4) ‘child exploitation in prostitution’ means the use of a child for sexual activities where money or any other form of remuneration, gain, advantage, benefit or consideration is given or promised as payment in exchange for the child engaging in sexual activities, regardless of whether that payment, promise, gain, advantage, benefit or consideration is made to the child or to a third party;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – introductory part: (5) ‘ child sexual abuse performance’ means a live exhibition aimed at an audience of one or more, including by means of information and communication technology, of:

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point a: (a) a child engaged in real or simulated sexually explicit acts or conduct; or

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 5 – point b: (b) the intimate parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes;

AddedArticle 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8: (8) ‘peers’ means persons who are close in age and degree of psychological and physical development and maturity.

AddedArticle 3 – title: Offences concerning child sexual abuse

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the intentional conduct referred to in paragraphs 2 to 8 is punishable.

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 2: 2. Causing, for sexual purposes, a child who has not reached the age of sexual consent, or a child who is above the age of sexual consent and does not consent to witness sexual activities, including by exposing that child to pornographic content, even without having to participate, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 1 year.

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 3: 3. Causing, for sexual purposes, a child who has not reached the age of sexual consent, or a child who is above the age of sexual consent and does not consent, to witness sexual abuse, even without having to participate, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 2 years.

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 4: 4. Engaging in sexual activities with a child who has not reached the age of sexual consent or causing the child to engage in sexual activities with another person or with themselves shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years. / The types of conduct referred to in the first subparagraph shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years where the child is above the age of sexual consent and does not consent.

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – point a: (a) abuse is made of a recognised position of trust, authority or influence over the child, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 12 years; or

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – point b: (b) abuse is made of a particularly vulnerable situation of the child, in particular because of a mental, intellectual, sensory or physical disability or a situation of dependence, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 12 years; or

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 5 – point c: (c) use is made of coercion, force, physical or psychological violence, blackmail or other threats shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 14 years;

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 6: 6. Coercing, forcing or threatening a child into sexual activities with a third party or with themselves shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 14 years.

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 7 – introductory part: 7. The following intentional conduct shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 16 years:

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 7 – point b a (new): (b a) causing a child below the age of sexual consent to engage themselves, in any act of vaginal, anal or oral penetration of a sexual nature, with any bodily part or object.

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 8: 8. The types of conduct referred to in paragraph 7 shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 16 years where the child is above the age of sexual consent and does not consent.

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 9 – introductory part: 9. For the purpose of paragraphs 2, 3, 4 and 8, Member States shall ensure that:

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 9 – point a: (a) a non-consensual act is understood as an act which is performed without the child’s consent, or where the child is unable to form a free will due to the presence of circumstances referred to in paragraph 5, or due to other circumstances, including the child’s physical or mental condition such as a state of unconsciousness, sleep, intoxication, surprise, freezing, illness or bodily injury;

AddedArticle 3 – paragraph 9 – point c: (c) the absence of consent cannot be refuted by the child’s silence, verbal or physical non-resistance or past or present sexual conduct or by any past or present relationship with an offender.

AddedArticle 4 – title: Offences concerning child sexual exploitation

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 1: 1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the intentional conduct referred to in paragraphs 2 to 7a is punishable.

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 2: 2. Causing or recruiting a child to participate in child sexual abuse performances, or profiting from or otherwise exploiting a child for such purposes shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 6 years.

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 3: 3. Coercing or forcing a child to participate in child sexual abuse performances, or threatening a child for such purposes shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 9 years.

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 4: 4. Knowingly attending child sexual abuse performances involving the participation of a child shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 3 years.

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 5: 5. Causing or recruiting a child to participate in exploitation in prostitution, or profiting from or otherwise exploiting a child for such purposes shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 12 years.

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 6: 6. Coercing or forcing a child into exploitation in prostitution, or threatening a child for such purposes shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 14 years.

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 7: 7. Engaging in sexual activities with a child, where recourse is made to exploitation in prostitution shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 12 years.

AddedArticle 4 – paragraph 7 a (new): 7 a. Coercing or forcing a child to share material representing that child’s intimate parts without that child’s consent in order to obtain money, child sexual abuse material or any other benefit shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 8 years.

AddedArticle 5 – paragraph 2: 2. Acquisition or possession of child sexual abuse material, including the possession of the material referred to in Article 2, point (3)(d), for private use, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 2 years. / Acquisition or possession of artificial intelligence systems designed or adapted primarily for the purpose of enabling the creation of child sexual abuse material shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 1 year.

AddedArticle 5 – paragraph 3: 3. Knowingly obtaining access, by means of information and communication technology, to child sexual abuse material shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 2 years.

AddedArticle 5 – paragraph 4: 4. Distribution, dissemination or transmission of child sexual abuse material shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 4 years. / Distribution, dissemination or transmission of artificial intelligence systems designed or adapted primarily for the purpose of enabling the creation of child sexual abuse material shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 2 years.

AddedArticle 5 – paragraph 5: 5. Offering, supplying or making available child sexual abuse material shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 4 years.

AddedArticle 5 – paragraph 6: 6. Production of child sexual abuse material, including the production of the material referred to in Article 2, point (3)(d), for private use, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 8 years. / Creation or adaptation of artificial intelligence systems designed or adapted primarily for the purpose of enabling the creation shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 3 years.

AddedArticle 5 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 1: For the purposes of paragraph 1, the conducts referred to in paragraph 2, 3 and transmission as referred to in paragraph 4 shall not be considered to be committed without right in particular where carried out by, or on behalf and under the responsibility of an organisation such as a hotline established in a Member State acting in the public interest against child sexual abuse that has been authorised by competent authorities of that Member State when such actions were carried out in accordance with the conditions set out in such authorisation.

AddedArticle 5 – paragraph 7 – subparagraph 2: These conditions shall include the requirement that the organisations that receive such authorisations have the necessary expertise and independence, that there are appropriate reporting and oversight mechanisms to ensure that the organisations act expeditiously, diligently, and in the public interest, and that the organisations make use of secure channels of communication to carry out the actions covered by the authorisation.