28 Amendments of Valérie DEVAUX related to 2024/0035(COD)
Amendment 79 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 36
Recital 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. To prevent secondary victimisation, law enforcement and related professionals must promote and adopt gender-sensitive approaches that avoid perpetuating harm or gender bias during investigations and interactions with victims. 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 principles, although it does not require the Member States to follow 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 obligation should not prevent other medical examinations necessary for the well-being of the child. Child victims should have easy access to child friendly justice, legal remedies and measures to address conflicts of interest where sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a child occurs within the family. When a special representative should be appointed for a child during a criminal investigation or proceeding, this role may be also carried out by a legal person, an institution or an authority. Moreover, child victims should be protected from penalties, for example under national legislation on prostitution, if they bring their case to the attention of competent authorities. Furthermore, participation in criminal proceedings by child victims should not cause additional trauma to the extent possible, as a result of interviews or visual contact with offenders. All authorities involved in the proceedings should be trained in child friendly justice. A good understanding of children and how they behave when faced with traumatic experiences will help to ensure a high quality of evidence-taking and also reduce the stress placed on children when carrying out the necessary measures. Where child victims participate in criminal proceedings, the court should take full account of their age and maturity in conducting the proceedings and should ensure that the proceedings are accessible and understandable to the child.
Amendment 106 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 a (new)
Recital 64 a (new)
(64 a) Child sexual abuse and exploitation has a strong gender component, which disproportionately affects girls online, therefore qualifying as an extreme form of gender-based violence;
Amendment 107 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 b (new)
Recital 64 b (new)
(64 b) It is crucial to integrate gender perspective into all measures designated to prevent and combat online child sexual abuse, while also addressing the root causes of gender-based violence;
Amendment 108 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 c (new)
Recital 64 c (new)
(64 c) 3 in 5 girls have experienced at least one online sexual harm and LGBTIQ+ children face higher risks of experiencing online sexual harm;
Amendment 109 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 d (new)
Recital 64 d (new)
(64 d) Girls are disproportionately more exposed to sexually motivated sextortion and child sexual abuse materials depicting girls increasingly becomes a currency in itself, traded amongst offenders, thereby showing the underlying power dynamics and social inequalities that perpetuate these abuses;
Amendment 110 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 e (new)
Recital 64 e (new)
(64 e) Non-consensual image distribution overwhelmingly depicts young girls, exposing them to enormous trauma, which can also lead to episodes of self- harm;
Amendment 111 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 f (new)
Recital 64 f (new)
(64 f) The use of emerging technologies, such the AI, deepfakes or other nudifying tools, leads to creation and dissemination of untruthful child sexual abuse material, while often disproportionally targeting girls;
Amendment 113 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 h (new)
Recital 64 h (new)
(64 h) Education programs should be put in place by Member States based on the practices of parents, carers and family members to prevent sharing of nudes and semi-nudes of children via online application, or social media;
Amendment 114 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 i (new)
Recital 64 i (new)
(64 i) Grooming is an exacerbated risk for children with vulnerabilities, such as the one facing mental health issues, low self-esteem, struggles their gender identity, or for children, who are bullied, isolated in school, and also the ones with family issues, or with experiences with prior abuse, including domestic violence or sexual abuse;
Amendment 115 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 64 j (new)
Recital 64 j (new)
(64 j) In order to effectively prevent online and offline child sexual abuse, especially for girls, Member States should establish and implement effective intervention measures aimed at preventing sexual abuse against children; children need to be educated in a child- friendly and child-sensitive way, regarding the possible risks of sexual abuse to develop their understanding on what constitutes a healthy relationship at an early age, through an age-appropriate and comprehensive sexuality and relationships education, teaching children about consent from the earliest age possible and ensuring children’s ability to verbalise their experiences after experiencing abuse. Member States should also strengthen digital literacy and tailor digital education in schools with the aim of equipping children with the necessary tools for navigating the online space in a safe manner. Guaranteeing these educational measures in all schools helps children, their families, teachers, and social services, to identify and report abuse;
Amendment 135 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 8 a (new)
(8 a) 'sextortion' means coercing or forcing a child to share intimate material, depicting the child under the threat of sharing the material beyond the consent of the depicted person; including financial sextortion;
Amendment 137 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 a (new)
'conversion therapy' means any treatment aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity;
Amendment 138 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 1 b (new)
´grooming´ means the process of establishing or building a relationship with a child either in person or through the use of the internet or other digital technologies to facilitate either online or in-person sexual contact, with a higher risk of targeting girls;
Amendment 145 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – point b
Article 3 – paragraph 5 – point b
(b) abuse is made of a particularly vulnerable situation of the child, in particular because of a mental or physical disability, such as but not limited to a state of unconsciousness, intoxication, freezing, illness, sleep, fear or bodily injury, or a situation of dependence, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years if the child has not reached the age of sexual consent, and of at least 6 years of imprisonment if the child is over that age; or
Amendment 168 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 7 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Coercing or forcing a child to share intimate material depicting the child under the threat of sharing the material beyond the consent of the depicted person shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 8 years if the child has not reached the age of sexual consent and of at least 5 years of imprisonment if the child is over that age.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 7 b (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Coercing or forcing a child to engage in sexual activities within the context of a conversion therapy practice shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 8 years if the child has not reached the age of sexual consent and of at least 5 years of imprisonment if the child is over that age.
Amendment 172 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 7 c (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 7 c (new)
7 c. Grooming a child with the aim of engaging with them in sexual activities shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 8 years if the child has not reached the age of sexual consent and of at least 5 years of imprisonment if the child is over that age.
Amendment 184 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point b
(b) The conduct referred to in the first subparagraph shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 2 years where use is made of coercion, force or, threats or grooming.
Amendment 207 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point j a (new)
(j a) the offence was committed against a child on the grounds of its sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or sex characteristics;
Amendment 209 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point j b (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point j b (new)
(j b) the offence was committed due to a motive based on grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or other belief, political opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation as per Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and resulted in either a direct or an indirect discrimination;
Amendment 212 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point j c (new)
Article 11 – paragraph 1 – point j c (new)
(j c) the offence was committed within the context of a conversion therapy practice;
Amendment 219 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point a
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point a
(a) at least 2035 years from the date the victim has reached the age of majority for the offences punishable under this Directive by a maximum penalty of at least 35 years of imprisonment;
Amendment 222 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point b
Article 16 – paragraph 2 – subparagraph 2 – point b
(b) at least 235 years from the date the victim has reached the age of majority for the offences punishable under this Directive by a maximum penalty of at least 5 years of imprisonment;
Amendment 228 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 17 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Member States shall ensure that all professionals and volunteers working in close contact with children are informed and trained on how to prevent, identify and report child sexual abuse and exploitation, following the best interests of the child.
Amendment 245 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 21 – paragraph 2
Article 21 – paragraph 2
2. Victims shall be provided with coordinated, age-appropriate, gender- sensititve, trauma-informed medical care, emotional, psychosocial, psychological and educational support and assistance, as well as any other appropriate support tailored in particular to situations of sexual abuse.
Amendment 249 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 21 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 21 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Victims shall upon their request and on opt-out basis receive information regarding any instances of child sexual abuse material depicting them that is or has been disseminated in the EU.
Amendment 251 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 21 – paragraph 3 a (new)
Article 21 – paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Families of victims of sexual abuse shall be provided with tailored, age- appropriate, gender-sensitive, trauma- informed and accessible information, support and assistance.
Amendment 309 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 31 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 31 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. The statistics shall include the following data disaggregated by sex, gender, age of the victim and of the offender, relationship between the victim and the offender and type of offence and aggravating cirumstances: