What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

DRAFT EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION

on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA (recast)

Changed:(COM(2024)0060 – C90028/2024C100028/2024 – 2024/0035(COD))

4 unchanged paragraphs

(Ordinary legislative procedure – recast)

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(2024)0060),

– having regard to Article 294(2) and Article 82(2) and Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the Commission submitted the proposal to Parliament (C90028/2024),

Removed:– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Legal Affairs on the proposed legal basis,

– having regard to Article 294(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts,

Changed:– having regard to the letter of [...]27 sentNovember by2024 from the Committee on Legal Affairs to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs in accordance with Rule 110(3)113(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed:– having regard to the letter of [...] sent to its President by the Committee on Legal Affairs in accordanceRules with113 Ruleand 110(4)60 of its Rules of Procedure,

Removed:– having regard to the letter of [...] by which the President of the Commission states that it is not withdrawing its proposal,

Added:– having regard to the opinion of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality,

Changed:– having regard to Rules 110,the 59letter andfrom 40the ofCommittee itson RulesCulture ofand Procedure,Education,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (A90000/2024),(A10-0097/2025),

4 unchanged paragraphs

A. whereas, according to the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission, the Commission proposal does not include any substantive amendments other than those identified as such in the proposal and whereas, as regards the codification of the unchanged provisions of the earlier acts together with those amendments, the proposal contains a straightforward codification of the existing texts, without any change in their substance;

1. Adopts its position at first reading hereinafter set out, taking into account the recommendations of the Consultative Working Party of the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission;

2. Calls on the Commission to refer the matter to Parliament again if it replaces, substantially amends or intends to substantially amend its proposal;

3. Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council, the Commission and the national parliaments.

Change 1

Removed:Recital 10: (10) Child sexual abuse material frequently includes images recording the sexual abuse of children by adults. It may also include images of children involved in sexually explicit conduct, or of their sexual organs, where such images are produced or used for primarily sexual purposes and exploited with or without the child’s knowledge. Furthermore, the concept of child sexual abuse material also covers realistic images of a child, where a child is engaged or depicted as being engaged in sexually explicit conduct for primarily sexual purposes , as well as instruction manuals intended to provide advice, guidance or instructions on how to commit child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation or child solicitation. To enhance the efficient implementation of this Directive, Member States should harmonise and modernise the language used in their national law to align it with the language used in this Directive. As a crucial initial measure, that involves replacing the term 'child pornography' with 'child sexual abuse material’.

Added:Recital 9 a (new): (9a) Children are increasingly active online from a young age, and the available evidence indicates that boys and girls appear to be vulnerable in different ways. While girls are disproportionately vulnerable to cyber violence, including online harassment, sexual extortion, sexual harm, and exploitation, boys are more likely to experience financial sexual coercion and are less attuned to online risks compared to girls. Studies show that one in 10 women has faced gender-based cyber violence since age 15, and 58 % of girls report online harassment. LGBTIQ+ children face even higher risks. Non-consensual image distribution and the trading of child sexual abuse materials further reinforce harmful gender stereotypes and inequalities. At least two-thirds of child sexual abuse and exploitation victims are girls. Therefore, rather than indiscriminately using the same interventions to target all children, tailored, gender-sensitive interventions should be developed to prevent and combat online child sexual abuse, ensuring digital platforms implement robust protections aligned with fundamental rights and recent legislation on violence against women, including cyber violence.

Removed:Recital 11: (11) Research has shown that limiting the dissemination of child sexual abuse material is not only crucial to avoid the re-victimisation linked to the circulation of images and videos of the abuse but is also essential as a form of offender-side prevention, as accessing child sexual abuse material is often the first step towards hands-on abuse, regardless of whether it depicts real or simply realistic abuse and exploitation. The ongoing development of artificial intelligence applications capable of creating realistic images that are indistinguishable from real images, the number of so-called ‘deep-fake’ images and videos generated by artificial intelligence depicting child sexual abuse is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. In addition, the development of augmented, extended and virtual reality settings making use of avatars including sensory feedback, e.g. through devices providing a perception of touch are not fully covered by the existing definition. The inclusion of an explicit reference to ‘reproductions and representations’ should ensure that the definition of child sexual abuse material covers these and future technological developments in a sufficiently technology-neutral and hence future-proof way.

Added:Recital 10: (10) Child sexual abuse material, regardless of the method of their creation, including by using artificial intelligence, frequently includes images recording the sexual abuse of children by adults. It may also include images of children involved in sexually explicit conduct, or of their intimate parts, where such images are produced or used for primarily sexual purposes and exploited with or without the child’s knowledge. Furthermore, the concept of child sexual abuse material also covers realistic images of a child, where a child is engaged or depicted as being engaged in sexually explicit conduct for primarily sexual purposes, as well as so-called ‘instructions manuals’ intended to provide advice, guidance or instructions on how to generate, distribute or acquire child sexual abuse material and how to commit child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation or child solicitation.

Removed:Recital 12: (12) To prevent offences involving the sexual abuse of children, the definition of child sexual abuse material should include instruction manuals on how to sexually abuse children. Such instruction manuals provide advice on how to find, groom and abuse children and avoid being identified and prosecuted. By lowering barriers and providing the necessary know-how, they contribute to inciting offenders and support the commission of sexual abuse. Their online dissemination has already led certain Member States to amend their criminal law and explicitly criminalise possession and distribution of such manuals. The lack of harmonisation creates an uneven level of protection across the EU.

Added:Recital 11: (11) Research has shown that limiting the dissemination of child sexual abuse material is not only crucial to avoid the re-victimisation linked to the circulation of images and videos of the abuse but is also essential as a form of offender-side prevention, as accessing child sexual abuse material is often the first step towards hands-on abuse, regardless of whether it depicts real or simply realistic abuse and exploitation. The ongoing development of artificial intelligence applications capable of creating realistic images that are indistinguishable from real images, the number of so-called ‘deep-fake’ images, pseudophotographs and videos as generated by artificial intelligence or created through any other computerised means depicting child sexual abuse is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. In addition, the development of augmented, extended and virtual reality settings making use of avatars including sensory feedback, e.g. through devices providing a perception of touch are not fully covered by the existing definition. The inclusion of an explicit reference to representations generated “by whatever means” and the reference to ‘reproductions and representations’ "regardless of the method of their creation or manipulation" should ensure that the definition of child sexual abuse material covers these and future technological developments in a sufficiently technology-neutral and hence future-proof way.

Removed:Recital 22: (22) Solicitation of children for sexual purposes is a threat with specific characteristics in the context of the Internet, as the latter provides unprecedented anonymity to users because they are able to conceal their real identity and personal characteristics, such as their age. In the last decade, the use of information and communication technologies has provided offenders with increasingly easy access to children, where the contact often starts with the offender luring the child, for example by pretending to be a peer or with other deceitful or flattering conduct, into compromising situations. This increased access to children has led to the rapid growth of phenomena such as sexual extortion (i.e. the conduct of threatening to share intimate material depicting the victim to obtain money, child sexual abuse material or any other benefit), affecting children both below and above the age of sexual consent. There has been a surge in recent years of financially motivated sexual extortion by organised crime groups that target in particular teenage boys, which have led to multiple cases of those children taking their lives. It is therefore essential that all these phenomena are appropriately covered in Member States’s law. At the same time, Member States acknowledge the importance of also combating the solicitation of a child outside the context of the Internet, in particular where such solicitation is not carried out by using information and communication technology. Member Sta…

Added:Recital 12: (12) To prevent offences involving the sexual abuse of children, the definition of child sexual abuse material should include instructions on how to sexually abuse or exploit children, regardless of the form in which such instructions are provided. Those instructions, including in the form of manuals, provide advice on how to find, groom and abuse children and avoid being identified and prosecuted or give guidance on how to generate, distribute or acquire child sexual abuse material. Digital models or prompts enabling the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material should also be regarded as instructions on how to sexually abuse or exploit children and therefore fall under the definition of child sexual abuse material. By lowering barriers and providing the necessary know-how, they contribute to inciting offenders and support the commission of sexual abuse. Their online dissemination has already led certain Member States to amend their criminal law and explicitly criminalise possession and distribution of such instructions. The lack of harmonisation creates an uneven level of protection across the EU.

Removed:Recital 24: (24) This Directive does not govern Member States’ policies with regard to consensual sexual activities in which children 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). The provisions related to the age of consent should not be interpreted in a way which limits in any manner the criminalisation of child sexual abuse and the exploitation of children who have reached and are above the age of consent as no child can consent to sexual abuse.

Added:Recital 12 a (new): (12a) The absence of consent forms part of the constitutive elements of some of the offences set out in this Directive. Therefore, the introduction of a definition of consent is deemed indispensable for ensuring the proper implementation of this Directive.

Removed:Recital 25: (25) Member States should provide for aggravating circumstances in their national law in accordance with the applicable rules established by their legal systems on aggravating circumstances. The age of the victim should be taken into account as an aggravating circumstance. They should ensure that those aggravating circumstances are available for judges to consider when sentencing offenders, although there is no obligation on judges to apply those aggravating circumstances. The aggravating circumstances should not be provided for in Member States’ law when irrelevant taking into account the nature of the specific offence. The relevance of the various aggravating circumstances provided for in this Directive should be evaluated at national level for each of the offences referred to in this Directive.

Added:Recital 12 b (new): (12b) The rights set out in this Directive are without prejudice to the rights of the offender. The term ‘offender’ refers to a person who has been convicted of a crime. However, for the purposes of this Directive, it also refers to a suspected or accused person before any acknowledgement of guilt or conviction, and it is without prejudice to the presumption of innocence.

Removed: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. 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, 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 obligation should not prevent other medical examinations necessary for the well-being of the child. Child victims should have easy access to child frie…

Added:Recital 14: (14) In adopting legislation on substantive criminal law, the Union should ensure consistency of such legislation in particular with regard to the level of penalties. This Directive, because it contains an exceptionally high number of different offences, requires, in order to reflect the various degrees of seriousness, a differentiation in the level of penalties which goes further than what should usually be provided in Union legal instruments. This Directive should ensure that technology-facilitated offences are covered by the same penalties as other offences, as the seriousness and trauma resulting from those offences is equivalent.

Removed:Recital 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…

Added: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. Furthermore, to enhance the efficient implementation of this Directive, Member States should harmonise and modernise the language used in their national law to align it with the language used in this Directive. As a crucial initial measure, that involves replacing the term 'child pornography' with 'child sexual abuse material’.

Removed:Recital 40 a (new): (40 a) It is essential that Member States build up 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 under the same roof 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.

Added:Recital 15 a (new): (15a) In order to achieve greater protection for children online and to reinforce preventive measures, also the intentional conduct of exposing children to pornographic content, for sexual purposes, should be criminalised.

Removed:Recital 43 a (new): (43 a) 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.

Added:Recital 20: (20) In the context of child sexual abuse material , the term not be considered to be committed without right’ allows Member States to provide a defence in respect of conduct relating to material that could constitute child sexual abuse material having, for example, a medical, scientific or similar purpose. Furthermore, the term ‘without right’ does not exclude legal defences or similar relevant principles that relieve a person of responsibility under specific circumstances. It also allows activities carried out under domestic legal powers, such as the legitimate possession of child sexual abuse material by the authorities in order to conduct criminal proceedings or to prevent, detect or investigate crime , or activities carried out by organisations, such as hotlines, acting in the public interest against child sexual abuse, when these organisations have been authorised by the competent authorities of the Member State in which they are established. These activities include, in particular, the reception, analysis and creation of reports of suspected child sexual abuse material, including the determination of the location where the material referred to in the reports is hosted, submitted to them by online users or other organisations acting in the public interest against child sexual abuse, as well as carrying out searches to detect the dissemination of child sexual abuse material.

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 a (new): The conduct referred to in the first subparagraph shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 8 years where the child is above the age of sexual consent and: / (a) does not consent to the act with a peer; or; / (b) is caused to engage in sexual activities with a person who is not a peer.

Added:Recital 20 a (new): (20a) Organisations acting in the public interest on the fight against child sexual abuse, such as the members of the INHOPE network of hotlines, have been active for years in several Member States, cooperating with law enforcement and providers to facilitate the process of removal and reporting of online child sexual abuse material. That work combats re-victimisation by limiting the spread of illegal material online, and can provide evidence to law enforcement of crimes committed. However, the legal framework in which they operate differs considerably from one Member State to another and is, in many cases, lacking in terms of the identification of the tasks that those organisations can lawfully undertake, as well as of the relevant conditions. Member States should be able to provide a legal framework for those organisations to carry out relevant tasks, and in particular the processing of child sexual abuse material, in which case the processing should not be considered to be “without right”. Such legal framework is necessary as it increases legal certainty, maximise synergies between national authorities and other actors involved in the fight against child sexual abuse, and support victims’ rights by removing child sexual abuse material from the public digital sphere.

Removed:Article 3 – paragraph 8: 8. Where the child is above the age of sexual consent and does not consent to the act, the conduct referred to in paragraph 7 shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 12 years.

Added:Recital 22: (22) Solicitation of children for sexual purposes is a threat with specific characteristics in the context of the Internet, as the latter provides unprecedented anonymity to users because they are able to conceal their real identity and personal characteristics, such as their age. In the last decade, the use of information and communication technologies has provided offenders with increasingly easy access to children, where the contact often starts with the offender luring the child, for example by pretending to be a peer or with other deceitful or flattering conduct, into compromising situations taking place in both the real and virtual world. This increased access to children has led to the rapid growth of phenomena such as sexual extorsion. Sexual extorsion of children refers to the act of threatening to distribute intimate material featuring a child victim in order to obtain money, child sexual abuse material, or other forms of gain, under the threat of sharing this material without the depicted person’s consent, affecting children both below and above the age of sexual consent. There has been a surge in recent years of financially motivated sexual extorsion by organised crime groups that target in particular teenage boys, which have led to multiple cases of those children taking their lives. It is therefore essential that all these phenomena are appropriately covered in Member States’s law. At the same time, Member States acknowledge the importance of also combating the …

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

Added:Recital 23: (23) In light of recent technological developments and, in particular, of the development of artificial intelligence, and of augmented, extended and virtual reality settings, there is an urgent need to address more effectively the solicitation of children and to carry out periodic evaluations of the legal framework: the criminalisation of the solicitation of children should not be limited to voice, text or mail conversations, but also include contacts, exchanges or meetings taking place in real or virtual worlds including in augmented, extended or virtual reality settings, as well as large-scale solicitation of children through the use of chat-bots trained for that purpose, as this phenomenon is itself expected to increase in light of the foreseeable evolution of artificial intelligence applications. Therefore “by means of information and communication technology” should be understood in a sufficiently broad way to cover all those technological developments.

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 8 – introductory part: 8. Member States shall provide a legal framework for organisations acting in the public interest against child sexual abuse referred to in paragraph 7 to harmonise their role and competences and to ensure that authorisations for such organisations allow all of the following activities to:

Added:Recital 23 a (new): (23a) Artificial Intelligence systems are being used to sexually abuse children in a number of ways, including by using images of real children to create child sexual abuse material, or by using voices of real children in such material. This results in the victimisation of real children, which may include survivors of prior child sexual abuse. The use of technology also enables offenders to disguise their identity and more effectively groom and abuse children online, for example through grooming automation techniques. To tackle those phenomena, the acquisition or possession, distribution, dissemination or transmission, the creation or adaptation of such tools designed or adapted primarily for the purpose of enabling the creation of child sexual abuse material should be criminalised

Removed:Article 5 – paragraph 8 – point d a (new): d a. cooperate directly with national service providers in notice and take-down procedures, with consent from the responsible national law enforcement authority.

Added:Recital 24: (24) This Directive does not govern Member States’ policies with regard to consensual sexual activities in which children 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. Member States should ensure that peers are protected from prosecution for consensual and non-exploitative sexual activity, provided that there is no element of coercion, abuse of trust or dependency between the 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). The provisions related to the age of consent should not be interpreted in a way which limit…

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 1 – point a: (a) proposing , by means of information and communication technology, to meet a child either online or in person , for the purpose of committing any of the offences referred to in Article 3(4) , (5), (6) and (7), Article 4 and Article 5(6), where that proposal was followed by material acts leading to such a meeting, shall be punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 1 year;

Added:Recital 25: (25) Member States should provide for aggravating circumstances in their national law in accordance with the applicable rules established by their legal systems on aggravating circumstances. The age of the victim, treatments aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity (so-called “conversion therapy”) and the fact that 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 should be taken into account as an aggravating circumstance. They should ensure that those aggravating circumstances are available for judges to consider when sentencing offenders, although there is no obligation on judges to apply those aggravating circumstances. The aggravating circumstances should not be provided for in Member States’ law when irrelevant taking into account the nature of the specific offence. The relevance of the various aggravating circumstances provided for in this Directive should be evaluated at national level for each of the offences referred to in this Directive.

Removed:Article 6 – paragraph 3 – subparagraph 1: Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that an attempt, by means of information and communication technology, to commit the offences provided for in Article 4(2) and (5) by an adult causing a child to participate in child sexual abuse performances and sexual exploitation is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 6 months.

Added:Recital 26: (26) Physical or mental incapacity under this Directive should be understood as also including the state of physical or mental incapacity caused by the influence of drugs, medicines and alcohol, or any substance that could compromise one’s free will. Individuals in a state of incapacity cannot give informed and voluntary consent, making any sexual act under such circumstances inherently non-consensual.

Removed:Article 7 – title: Solicitation to commit sexual abuse or exploitation

Added: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. Due to children’s specific vulnerabilities and developmental limitations, they may not fully grasp that what occurred was abusive, especially if the abuser was a trusted adult. It may take reaching adulthood for survivors to develop the emotional maturity to recognise the abuse for what it was and to understand its long-term effects. Trauma can cause victims to repress or block out the memories as a protective measure for years. 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 are abolished.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 5 – subparagraph 1: For the purpose of paragraphs 1 to 4, a child above the age of sexual consent can be considered as having consented to an activity only where the consent was given voluntarily, as result of the child’s free will assessed in the context of the surrounding circumstances. A child above the age of sexual consent shall not be considered to have consented where the child was unable to form free will due to the presence of the circumstances referred to Article 3(5) or due to other circumstances, including the child’s physical or mental condition, such as a state of unconsciousness, intoxication, freezing, illness or bodily injury.

Added:Recital 34: (34) Member States should encourage any person who has knowledge or suspicion of the sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a child to report to the competent services. In particular, Member States should make available information to children about the possibility to report the abuse, including to helplines and through the communication platforms that young people use most frequently. It is the responsibility of each Member State to determine the competent authorities to which such suspicions may be reported. Those competent authorities should not be limited to child protection services or relevant social services. The requirement of suspicion ‘in good faith’ should be aimed at preventing the provision being invoked to authorise the denunciation of purely imaginary or untrue facts carried out with malicious intent.

Removed:Article 10 – paragraph 6: 6. Consensual sharing of one’s intimate images or videos or similar material cannot be interpreted as consent to any further sharing or dissemination of that same image or video or similar material, including in a manipulated or altered version.

Added:Recital 34 a (new): (34a) All professionals, whether staff or contractuals, and volunteers in close contact with children should undergo mandatory training to recognise abuses and the steps to be taken to ensure the safety of a child. That training should focus on what constitutes online and offline child sexual abuse, help recognising indicators of abuse such as physical injuries, emotional distress, behavioural changes, and help identifying available reporting procedures.