United Nations EducatiQnal, Sckntik
and Cultural Organization
Organisation des Nations Unies pou: iTEducation, la Science et la Culture
Experts merting
Sexual Abuse
of Children,
and Paedophilia
an lnternationa’
UNESCO,
605/l (E)
Child Pornography
cn the Internet:
Challenge
Paris, Room Ii. $8-19 January
Background
CII-98/CONF.
on :
Document
1999
Sexual Abuse of Children, Child Pornography and Paedopbilia on the Intemet:
an &err&ion& challenge. UNESCO, Paris 18-19 January 1999. CII-96XONR605.1
- ..
the problem
In responding to the views expressed by many Member States, UNESCO is deeply
concerned with the problems of sexual abuse of children, child pornography and
paedophilia on the, Internet - because these children are at the very crossroads
where education, culture, tolerance and peace should be making headway, and not
the tra&
of moral corruption, violence and hatred. These are the children who
should be in the schools that UNESCO and its Member States seek to assist and for
which the Organization seeks to provide the latest resources and techniques in
education, science and culture. The minds of children are the seeding grounds for
the peace of the next generation. And if these very children are corrupted in morals
and their ethical sense is distorted at this very tender age, what is to become of the
adults tomorrow.
objective
and approach
The purpose of the meeting on Sexual Abuse of Children, Child Pornography and
Paedopbilia on Internet is to provide the setting for an informed discussion which
can proceed expeditiously and analytically to formulating a plan for joint action
This presentation provides the nature and scope of the problem, a clarification of
terms used, a review of the social and technical landscape in which paedopbiha on
the Internet operates, the social, economic and political parameters within which we
may seek practical and justifiable solutions. The paper seeks to explain the layout of
the meeting under two principal areas of the problem: sexual abuse of children (the
real world) and paedophilia on the Internet (the virtual world). It then explains how
this is broken down into three main discussion themes for each area. Time vZU be
provided on the second day of the meeting for three working groups in which the
participants are encouraged to propose recommendations and elements for a joint
action plan.
The meeting will take into account already existing information - reports and
websites maintained
by groups defending children
and fighting
against
pornography. Still, the purpose of the meeting is not to review all that is already
available in reports and websites, but to seek the commitment of these organizations
to act together in a well co-ordinated network and propose a joint plan of action.
Bearing in mind the conclusions and recommendations reached in previous fora and
agreements forged, the goal of this meeting is to advance with renewed vigour at the
international level.
Paedophilia’on
the Inter-net page 1
Grateful appreciation is expressed to all whose papers and reports have been read,
synthesised and reflected in one way or another in this connection.
scope of the problem
- ..
The sexual abuse of children, child pornography and paedophiha on the Internet
today are problems of international
proportion. Through satellite, cable and the
Internet, they touch all levels of society, they reach alI regions, they put at risk
children who should be in school and studying to contribute to their society.
The global community has recognised that children who are victimised by implicit or
explicit sexual acts and recorded on camera photographically
or digitally for
commercial sale and distribution also face a traumatic future and a life of acute
psychological disorders. It should also be realised that repeating this audiovisual
presentation over and over again to audiences of several thousands also repeats the
sense of victimisation of these children.
It is estimated that many of the girls and boys tracked
for sex slavery and tourism
in Asia and Africa end up victims of AIDS (over a million in South Asia alone). A
proportionally high number may also attempt to commit suicide.
The problem is internationally
widespread. The solution must also be international,
enjoining the resources and forces of all concerned There are no excuses for sexually
abusing children at any time, in any place and under any circumstances. Every child
has the right to protection from cruelty, neglect and exploitation. Every child is a
human being and must be respected and treated as such.
the numbers
Most of the data regarding the extent and nature of the problem have focussed on
North America and Northern European regions, which have also played a key role in
the production, distribution and consumption of child pornography not only in these
regions but all over the world.
In developing countries, the reality of child pornography is often dwarfed by the
magnitude of other problems such as poverty, illiteracy, hunger, and disease and
often there is little reliable data on the subject. Street children, poor children,
juveniles Tom broken homes, and disabled minors are especially vulnerable to
sexual exploitation
and to being seduced or coerced into the production
of
pornographic material. Thus, a combination of factors - economic, social, cultural,
attitudinal - push children to fend for themselves, often taking them into situations
Wherever they live, problems within
or among the family
of exploitation.
environment often either precede or become the causes for child abuse, neglect or
exploitation.
One cannot be remiss in appreciating
these social factors when
proposing solutions.
It has not been easy to determine how many child pornographic or paedophiliac sites
there are, nor to estimate how many consult these sites deliberately every day.
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on the Inter-net
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Simple key word searches could raise
with everything from sexy pin-ups to
into account multiple use of keywords
do any of these counters disting&%
visitors, or those doing research.
from 100,000 to over a million sites dealing
videos of paedophilia. But this does not take
nor multiple referrals to the same sites. Nor
deliberate visitors from casual or accidental
But numbers aside, the problem of paedophilia and child pornography on the
Internet does exist. Perhaps quantification is itself a problem to be analysed, tackled
and referred to a competent institution.
redefining
the jargon
It is always helpful to clarify terms. The meaning of the sexual abuse of children is
usually self evident, until one starts to argue on research detitions
and those used
in legal work and jurisprudence. Sexual abuse of children refers to the persuading or
forcing of children (as determined by the legal age of majority) to engage in implicit
or explicit sexual acts, alone or with another person of any age, of the same sex or
the opposite sex.
Most dictionaries define paedophilia as a sexual aberration or perversion in which
the preferred sexual objects are prepubescent children, usua.lIy under the age of 13.
Paedophilia is thus a synonym for the sexual abuse of children. Because this is
usually understood as a psychiatric description, law enforcement agents often
employ a broader definition of paedophilia to include adults who have a sexual
attraction for persons legally considered children.
The question of what constitutes child pornography can be complex. The standards
applied are often subjective and contingent upon moral, cultural, sexual, social and
religious beliefs that differ from country to country a,nd sometimes among different
societies in the same country. Nor do these mores readily translate into law in the
strictly juridical sense. Legal definitions of both child and child pornography differ
globally and may differ among legal jurisdictions
within the same country.
However, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, now adopted by 191
Member States, provides an international
de&&ion of the Child as being anyone
under 18.
The Council of Europe defines child pornography in broad terms as ‘any audiovisual
material which uses children in ‘a sexual context.’ The International Criminal Police
Organisation (INTERPOL) defines child pornography as the visual depiction of the
sexual exploitation of a child, focussing on the child’s sexual behaviour or genitals.’
For this meeting, it is dif5cult to separate any one of the three aspects of the
meeting title for an exclusive discussion. The three aspects must be considered
together: child pornography and paedophilia on the Internet are two mediatized
aspects of the one evil, the sexual abuse of children.
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on the Internet
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UNESCO’s
concern
The main concern of UNESCO is the young children of today. It is wasteful and
dangerous to sexually abuse childYen or to involve children in pornography and acts
of paedophilia. This runs diametrically counter to universal social and human
values, and even risks destroying the future of society -- our own children -- when
they should be in school learning to build the societies of the future.
While seeking to protect children fiorn the dangers of the Internet, it is also
important to distinguish and punish the real criminaIs, and not destroy the tools,
the new communication and information technologies, the creative environment
which offers the means of transferring
culture and education, as well as,
unfortunately,
child pornography and paedophilia. UNESCO thus has an ethical
interest as well, to safeguard freedom of expression. Its charter mandates UNESCO
to promote the free flow of ‘ideas by word and image, a wider and better-balanced
dissemination of information at international as well as national levels without any
obstacle to the freedom of expression.
In convening this meeting, the Director-General, Federico Mayor, has urged a spirit of
freedom and democracy: ‘I. . _the only way to cure the ills of freedom is to ensure more
freedom, and the only way to cure the ills of democracy is to have more democracy.” We
should not allow paedophilia, child pornography and child prostitution to pervert
the roads of freedom
towards
action
The primary objective is to elaborate a joint plan of action, proposing action teams to
carry out the recommendations of the plan. The agenda is deliberately designed to
provide the basic information and propose elements for action, and thus orient the
participants to the working groups where ideas for group action can be specified:
First session: Sexual abuse of children and paedophilia.
1. Family, social and economic perspectives:
origins, causes, prevention and care.
This theme seeks to analyse the family, social and economic causes of the breakdown
in social morality and what appears to be a too easy transition of children, especially
young girls to slave tracking,
sex tourism and child sex rings, whether these are
based in industrial countries or even in the countries where the children are
recruited It is anticipated that the discussions and the working group on this point
wiIl be able to appreciate the social conditions in which these evils occur and seek
remedies at the root causes of the problem, and not only at the level of symptoms.
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on the Inter-net
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2. Combating sexual abuse of children:
the actors and the role of civil society.
- _I.
Under
including
combating
net. It will
these ills.
this point, the overall landscape of child sex abuse will be described,
the tourist industry, travel agents, recruiters, liaison points, NGOs
sex tourism, child sex abuse and pornography, and paedophilia on the
seek to conclude with ways that civil society can work together to solve
3. Legal and judicial aspects.
Law enforcement and crime detection, extradition.
There have been a number of
active law enforcement agencies and criminal investigation institutions. They have
also linked with several NGOs working on the web. In a few cases, this cooperation
has led to arrests and prosecution. In others, valuable information
has been
exchanged for future work. This session should seek to uncover new ways of working
together and bringing international, regional and national resources to bear on the
problem, and spec&alIy on extradition and juridical processes.
Second session: Child Pornography
and Paedophilia
on the Internet
4. Encouraging the free flow of information
in the face of worldwide concern for the sexual abuse of children,
child pornography and paedophilia on the Internet.
It is most important in this work to catch the criminal but in doing so, not to destroy
the tools and environment of free expression. Hence, this point will seek to clarify
the issues concerning the safeguards to a free flow of ideas by word and by image
and within these safeguards how cooperation among all concerned, especially
journalists and media practitioners can be envisaged.
5. Civil
making
content
rating
liberties, privacy and internet abusers:
the net safe for young children;
providers, spam filters, search engines,
websites, monitoring and networl&g.
Taking the cue from the previous point, this session tries to analyse the tools
already provided within the Internet and the application of informatics techniques
to combat virtual and digital forms of paedophilia. These would include among
others: self-rating systems of content providers and website masters; if appropriate,
the meeting might also discuss ways to harmonise the various rating systems, but
this should not deter the participants from ascending to the higher and more
important issues; how to use spam filters and other methods of keeping unwanted
net sites and services from the reach of young children; how search engines might be
refined and possibly nuanced to interpret correctly the subjects sought and to
retrieve the sites that are really wanted; ways of monitoring what happens on the
net and how to network for quick remedial action.
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6. Research, information,
monitoring,
sensitising the public.
In the last few years, several new institutions have arisen and several older ones
have focussed more sharply on research and information concerning violence in
society, violence on the screen, sexual abuse of children, child pornography,
paedophilia on the internet and related fields. Among these are the International
Clearing House on Children and Violence. on the Screen at the University
of
Gothenberg, Sweden; the Queen Sofia Centre on the Study of Violence in Valencia,
Spain; the Institute
for Media Competence at the University
of Utrecht,
Netherlands, the Groupe de Recherche sur la Relation EnfantslMBdias, and several
others. It would be impossible for any one such institute to monitor everything
happening on the Internet and to report this world wide. But in association with
other institutions much can be done. These would provide the main research and indepth information
on all and any of the related subjects. Together with child
organisations such as Childhood International
Internet Watch Foundation (IWF),
Child Rights International
Network (GRIN), End Child Abuse in Asian Tourism
(ECPAT) and Movement against Paedophilia on the Internet (MAPI) and similar
data and information networks, they could form a kind of ‘world observatory.’
Working Groups
Once the main papers have been presented and discussed, bearing in mind the need
to bring discussions towards recommendations and joint action, three working
groups will be formed to enable the participants to put these recommendations down
in writing and present them in a more coherent and synthetic manner. Together,
they will be analyzed for the eventual preparation by the Secretariat of an overall
Plan of Action. These working groups will focus on the following issues:
1. Social
and economic preventive
strategies; developing support systems;
establishing regional and international networking; links with the organisations
concerned with protecting children on the net; raising
awareness; educating
parents and communities.
2. Legal issues: investigation, reinforcing existing legislation; law enforcement; the
judiciary processes.
3. Research; information and monitoring; sensitisation of the public.
xx**
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