Condensed: Sexual exploitation and abuse of children includes unlawful sexual activity, child prostitution, child pornography, sexual slavery, trafficking and sale of children for sexual purposes as well as early and forced marriage.Rape is the penetration however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or of the perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the victim with any object or any part of the body, without consent of the victim. Consent is clearly not present with regard to children under an objective and reasonable age of consent. Child pornography means any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes. States have an obligation to take legislative, administrative, educational and other appropriate measures to prevent and address sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape of children. Adequate systems for reporting and investigating allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape should be implemented and perpetrators should be prosecuted. . Comprehensive: According to Article 34 of the CRC, States ‘undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse’.[1] Article 34 is linked to the prohibition of trafficking in Article 35 and the general prohibition of exploitation in Article 35. In the context of regulations for UN personnel, the UN Secretary-General has defined sexual exploitation as ‘any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.’ In the same context ‘sexual abuse’ has been defined as ‘actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.’ As these definitions make clear the distinction between sexual exploitation and sexual abuse is not very clear. Sexual exploitation and abuse of children includes unlawful sexual activity, child prostitution, child pornography, sexual slavery, trafficking and sale of children for sexual purposes as well as early and forced marriage. (See *abduction or sale*; *sexual violence*). According to the CRC Committee sexual abuse, comprises any sexual activities imposed by an adult on a child, against which the child is entitled to protection by criminal law. Sexual activities are also considered as abuse when committed against a child by another child, if the child offender is significantly older than the child victim or uses power, threat or other means of pressure. Sexual activities between children are not considered as sexual abuse if the children are older than the age limit defined by the State party for consensual sexual activities. Children may be sexually abused without the perpetrator using physical force or restraint.[2] According to the CRC Committee, ‘[u]naccompanied children outside their country of origin are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Girls are at particular risk of being trafficked, including for purposes of sexual exploitation.’[3] *Rape* is the penetration however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or of the perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the victim with any object or any part of the body,[4] without consent of the victim.[5] Consent is clearly not present with regard to children under an objective and reasonable age of consent. States have an obligation to legislate a minimum age for sexual consent.[6] The CRC Committee has criticised an age of sexual consent of 13 years as being too low.[7] States have an obligation to take legislative, administrative, educational and other appropriate measures to prevent and address sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape of children. Adequate systems for reporting and investigating allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape should be implemented and perpetrators should be prosecuted. (See *freedom from violence, abuse and neglect*). Child prostitution‘means the use of a child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other form of consideration.’[8] According to article 3(1)(b) of the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, States must criminalize ‘offering, obtaining, procuring or providing a child for child prostitution’. Child pornography ‘means any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes.’[9] The Optional Protocol also calls on States to criminalize ‘producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling or possessing’ child pornography.[10] States should make child prostitution and child pornography extraditable offences[11] and take measures to provide for the seizure of goods used to commit or facilitate such offences as well as proceeds derived there from.[12] . Additional references S Detrick A commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1999) UNICEF Implementation handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2007)
[1]See also ACRWC art 27. [2]CRC General Comment 13 para 25(d).
[4] ICC Elements of Crimes, ICC-ASP/1/3 (part II-B) (2002) 8. See also Prosecutor v KuneracICTY-96-23-T (ICTY 2001) para 460, Miguel Castro Castro v Peru (IACtHR) para 310, Kunerac paras 436- CoE Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CoE Convention) art 36. [5]Prosecutor v Kunera para 460; MC v Bulgaria application 39272/98 (ECtHR 2003) para 166, CoE Convention art 36. The ICC Elements of Crimes refers to coercion or force rather than lack of consent. [6]CRC Concluding Observations: Georgia, CRC/C/15/ADD.124 (CRC, 2000), para 23. [7]CRC Concluding Observations: Guyana, CRC/C/15/ADD.224 (CRC, 2004), para 20; CRC Concluding Observations: Spain, CRC/C/OPSC/ESP/CO/1 (CRC, 2007), para 23; CRC/C/15/ADD.231 (CRC, 2004) para 22..
[8]Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography art 2(b).
[9] CRC Optional Protocol art 2(c). See also CoE Convention on Cybercrime art 9.
[10]Art 3(1)(c). See also Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, E/CN.4/2005/78, para 123. [11]Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography art 5. [12]Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography art 7.
Sexual exploitation and abuse of children includes unlawful sexual activity, child prostitution, child pornography, sexual slavery, trafficking and sale of children for sexual purposes as well as early and forced marriage. Rape is the penetration however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or of the perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the victim with any object or any part of the body, without consent of the victim. Consent is clearly not present with regard to children under an objective and reasonable age of consent. Child pornography means any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes.
States have an obligation to take legislative, administrative, educational and other appropriate measures to prevent and address sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape of children. Adequate systems for reporting and investigating allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape should be implemented and perpetrators should be prosecuted.
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Comprehensive:
According to Article 34 of the CRC, States ‘undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse’.[1] Article 34 is linked to the prohibition of trafficking in Article 35 and the general prohibition of exploitation in Article 35.
In the context of regulations for UN personnel, the UN Secretary-General has defined sexual exploitation as ‘any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another.’ In the same context ‘sexual abuse’ has been defined as ‘actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions.’ As these definitions make clear the distinction between sexual exploitation and sexual abuse is not very clear. Sexual exploitation and abuse of children includes unlawful sexual activity, child prostitution, child pornography, sexual slavery, trafficking and sale of children for sexual purposes as well as early and forced marriage. (See *abduction or sale*; *sexual violence*).
According to the CRC Committee sexual abuse,
comprises any sexual activities imposed by an adult on a child, against which the child is entitled to protection by criminal law. Sexual activities are also considered as abuse when committed against a child by another child, if the child offender is significantly older than the child victim or uses power, threat or other means of pressure. Sexual activities between children are not considered as sexual abuse if the children are older than the age limit defined by the State party for consensual sexual activities.
Children may be sexually abused without the perpetrator using physical force or restraint.[2] According to the CRC Committee, ‘[u]naccompanied children outside their country of origin are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Girls are at particular risk of being trafficked, including for purposes of sexual exploitation.’[3]
*Rape* is the penetration however slight, of any part of the body of the victim or of the perpetrator with a sexual organ, or of the anal or genital opening of the victim with any object or any part of the body,[4] without consent of the victim.[5] Consent is clearly not present with regard to children under an objective and reasonable age of consent. States have an obligation to legislate a minimum age for sexual consent.[6] The CRC Committee has criticised an age of sexual consent of 13 years as being too low.[7]
States have an obligation to take legislative, administrative, educational and other appropriate measures to prevent and address sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape of children. Adequate systems for reporting and investigating allegations of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and rape should be implemented and perpetrators should be prosecuted. (See *freedom from violence, abuse and neglect*).
Child prostitution‘means the use of a child in sexual activities for remuneration or any other form of consideration.’[8] According to article 3(1)(b) of the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, States must criminalize ‘offering, obtaining, procuring or providing a child for child prostitution’.
Child pornography ‘means any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes.’[9] The Optional Protocol also calls on States to criminalize ‘producing, distributing, disseminating, importing, exporting, offering, selling or possessing’ child pornography.[10]
States should make child prostitution and child pornography extraditable offences[11] and take measures to provide for the seizure of goods used to commit or facilitate such offences as well as proceeds derived there from.[12]
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Additional references
S Detrick A commentary on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1999)
UNICEF Implementation handbook for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (2007)
[1]See also ACRWC art 27.
[2]CRC General Comment 13 para 25(d).
[3] CRC General Comment 6 para 50.
[4] ICC Elements of Crimes, ICC-ASP/1/3 (part II-B) (2002) 8. See also Prosecutor v KuneracICTY-96-23-T (ICTY 2001) para 460, Miguel Castro Castro v Peru (IACtHR) para 310, Kunerac paras 436- CoE Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (CoE Convention) art 36.[5]Prosecutor v Kunera para 460; MC v Bulgaria application 39272/98 (ECtHR 2003) para 166, CoE Convention art 36. The ICC Elements of Crimes refers to coercion or force rather than lack of consent.
[6]CRC Concluding Observations: Georgia, CRC/C/15/ADD.124 (CRC, 2000), para 23.
[7]CRC Concluding Observations: Guyana, CRC/C/15/ADD.224 (CRC, 2004), para 20; CRC Concluding Observations: Spain, CRC/C/OPSC/ESP/CO/1 (CRC, 2007), para 23; CRC/C/15/ADD.231 (CRC, 2004) para 22..
[8]Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography art 2(b).
[9] CRC Optional Protocol art 2(c). See also CoE Convention on Cybercrime art 9.
[10]Art 3(1)(c). See also Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, E/CN.4/2005/78, para 123.[11]Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography art 5.
[12]Optional Protocol to the CRC on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography art 7.