16 Amendments of Catherine GRISET related to 2024/0035(COD)
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Serious forms of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children should be subject to effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties. This includes, in particular, various forms of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children which are facilitated by the use of information and communication technology, such as the online solicitation of children for sexual purposes via social networking websites and chat rooms. The definition of child sexual abuse material should also be clarified and brought closer to that contained in international instruments. More broadly, the terminology used in this Directive should be brought into line with recognised international standards such as the Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse adopted by the Interagency Working Group in Luxembourg on 28 January 2016.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 19 a (new)
Recital 19 a (new)
(19a) As child sexual abuse is a particularly serious and intolerable crime, Member States should be able to deport foreign offenders to their countries of origin.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) This Directive does not govern Member States’ policies with regard to consensual sexual activities in which children who have reached the age of sexual consent may be involved and which can be regarded as the normal discovery of sexuality in the course of human development, taking account of the different cultural and legal traditions and of new forms of establishing and maintaining relations among children and adolescents, including through information and communication technologies. Member States which avail themselves of the possibilities referred to in this Directive do so in the exercise of their competences. More particularly, Member States should be able to exempt from criminalisation consensual sexual activities involving exclusively children above the age of sexual consent, as well as consensual sexual activities involving peers. The amendments to that Article are intended to clarify the scope of the derogation, in light of the fact that some Member States appear to have interpreted its original wording too broadly (e.g. by exempting from criminalisation consensual activities between minors above the age of consent and adults of any age, considered to be ‘peers’ despite a significant age difference).
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24 a (new)
Recital 24 a (new)
(24a) Member States must pay particular attention to ensuring that sex education, in school or out-of-school settings, is not misused in order to promote the sexual abuse of children by exposing them to words or images of a sexual nature without taking into account their level of psychological maturity and their incapacity to consent to such exposure.
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 26
Recital 26
(26) Physical or mental incapacity under this Directive should be understood as also including the state of physical or mental incapacity relating to the age of a child or caused by the influence of drugs and alcohol.
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) Victims of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children are often unable to report the crime for several decades after its commission due to the shame, guilt and self-blame, which can be related, among others, to the social and cultural stigma that still surround sexual abuse, the secrecy in which the abuse takes place, threatening or blaming conduct by the perpetrator, and/or trauma. This phenomenon of underreporting particularly affects young children and boys. Perpetrators of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, unlike perpetrators of other violent crimes, tend to remain active until old age, continuing to pose a threat to children. In light of this, effective investigation and prosecution of offences involving sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children, as well as appropriate victims’ assistance and support, can only be provided if statutes of limitations allow victims to report the crime for a significantly extended period of time.
Amendment 80 #
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 deep involvement on the part of a child's parents or legal representatives, in so far as they are not concerned by an investigation, but also 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 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 100 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 50
Recital 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 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 or arts 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 registers, and all relevant records that can be easily obtained from third countries, such as information that can be obtained from the United Kingdom through the channel established in accordance with Title IX of Part Three of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, of the one part, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, of the other part19. _________________ 19 OJ L 149, 30.4.2021, p. 10, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/agree_internation/ 2021/689 (1)/ojhttp:// data.europa.eu/eli/agr ee_internation/2021/ 689 (1)/oj.
Amendment 105 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 56
Recital 56
(56) Child sexual abuse material is a specific type of content which cannot be construed as an artistic work or the expression of an opinion. To combat it, it is necessary to reduce the circulation of child sexual abuse material by making it more difficult for offenders to upload such content onto the publicly accessible web. Action is therefore necessary to remove the content and apprehend those guilty of making, distributing or downloading child sexual abuse material . With a view to supporting the Union’s efforts to combat child sexual abuse material , Member States should use their best endeavours to cooperate with third countries in seeking to secure the removal of such content from servers within their territory.
Amendment 158 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 9 – point a
Article 3 – paragraph 9 – point a
(a) a non-consensual act is understood as an act which is performed without the child’s consent given voluntarily, as a result of the child’s free will assessed in the context of the surrounding circumstances, 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 age or physical or mental condition such as a state of unconsciousness, intoxication, freezing, illness or bodily injury;
Amendment 198 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 10 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
Article 10 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 3 a (new)
A child who has not reached the age of sexual consent cannot consent to sexual activity.
Amendment 231 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that the reporting procedures referred to in paragraph 1 are safe, confidential and designed in a child-friendly manner and language, in accordance with their age and maturity. Member States shall ensure reporting is not conditional upon parental consent. They shall tackle the phenomenon of underreporting, which particularly affects young children and boys, by adapting their practices.
Amendment 287 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 2
Article 28 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall take appropriate action, including through the Internet, such as information and awareness-raising campaigns, research, education and training programmes or material , where appropriate in cooperation with relevant civil society organisations, such as family associations, and other stakeholders, aimed at raising awareness and reducing the risk of children, becoming victims of sexual abuse or sexual exploitation. Where these preventive activities take place in school or out-of- school settings, they shall ensure that the parents or legal representatives of the child are involved.
Amendment 296 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Article 28 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1
Member States shall take appropriate measures to enhance the prevention of child sexual abuse in community settings, including schools, hospitals, social care services, sports and arts clubs or religious communities.
Amendment 305 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 28 – paragraph 5 a (new)
Article 28 – paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Member States shall ensure that no promotion of child sexual abuse in art and advertising is tolerated.
Amendment 310 #
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, age, nationality of the victim and of the offender, relationship between the victim and the offender and type of offence: