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Laws and conventions

Swedish legislation

Children have the right not to be subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. This is regulated both in Swedish legislation and international conventions that Sweden has signed. The Swedish laws that protect children from being subjected to commercial sexual exploitation are gathered under the following chapters of the Criminal Code:

The legislation on sexual offenses is contained in Chapter 6 of the Criminal Code. At present, Swedish legislation makes a distinction between whether a sexual offense is directed against a younger or older child. Younger children have stronger protection than older children and the age limit is 15 years.

Sexual offenses against children under 15
In the case of children under 15, sexual acts are considered sexual offenses regardless of the child’s attitude to the act. Several of the penal provisions in Chapter 6, not least the rape provision, are based on people’s ability to express their will. A starting point is that a child under the age of 15, due to his or her level of development and dependency, can never consent to sexual acts. To be held liable, it is sufficient that the perpetrator was negligent with regard to the fact that the child is under 15 years of age (Chapter 6, Section 13 of the Penal Code).

Sexual offenses against children over 15
A child over the age of 15 generally has the same protection as an adult. However, there are some exceptions, including commercial sexual exploitation. When it comes to the purchase of sexual acts online or offline, there are two offenses that can apply to children over 15: the exploitation of children through the purchase of a sexual act and the exploitation of children for sexual posing.

Exploitation of children through the purchase of sexual acts
The criminal provision on exploitation of children through the purchase of sexual acts is contained in Chapter 6, Section 9 of the Criminal Code. The offense is primarily aimed at the purchase of sexual acts by children over the age of fifteen, as children under the age of fifteen are protected from being subjected to any sexual abuse. Child exploitation through the purchase of a sexual act occurs when a child is subjected to commercial sexual exploitation during a physical encounter. The compensation given to the child does not have to be money, but can also be clothes, alcohol, drugs or other items. The offense is punishable by imprisonment for a maximum of four years.

Exploitation of children for sexual purposes
The offense means that a person promotes or exploits a child under the age of fifteen years to perform or participate in sexual activities. The same applies if a person does the same to a child who has reached the age of fifteen but is not yet eighteen, if the posing is likely to harm the child’s health or development. Paying a child to perform or participate in sexual posing is a form of promotion and therefore the perpetrator can be convicted under this legislation.

The penalty for sexual exploitation of a child is a fine or imprisonment for a maximum of two years. If the offense is aggravated, the penalty for aggravated sexual exploitation of a child is imprisonment for a minimum of six months and a maximum of six years.

Child pornography crime
Anyone who depicts, possesses, distributes, produces or otherwise deals with pornographic images of children is sentenced for child pornography crime to imprisonment for a maximum of two years; in the case of a serious offense to imprisonment for a minimum of six months and a maximum of six years (Chapter 16, Section 10 a of the Criminal Code).

The criminal provision on child pornography offenses covers images depicting both real and fictitious children. All the forms of conduct covered by the offense of child pornography constitute an offense against children in general. Children should not be sexualized and depicted in a sexual context. Many offenses also violate the peace and sexual integrity of an individual child.

In current Swedish law and practice, there are statements to the effect that children over the age of 15 and with some pubertal development should not be judged by the same standards as younger children, particularly in the case of sexual acts against oneself or in front of a camera. Arguments for this include personal and sexual integrity and sexual self-determination.

Human trafficking
The crime of human trafficking is set out in Chapter 4, Section 1a of the Criminal Code. The Swedish provision is based on international law. There must be an act (e.g. deceiving, recruiting, procuring, transporting, receiving or advertising a child) aimed at exploiting the child. The exploitation does not need to have taken place for a person to be convicted of human trafficking; an act aimed at exploiting the child is sufficient. Children are in such a vulnerable situation that any action aimed at exploiting them is human trafficking. This means, for example, that it should not matter for criminal liability whether the child has been subjected to threats, violence, lies or other means of pressure.

Read more here about how we think the laws need to change to strengthen the protection of children who are victims of commercial sexual exploitation.

Conventions

The four pillars of the CRC are Articles 2, 3, 6 and 12. When reading all the other articles, they should be read with the basic principles “as glasses”. One of the most fundamental outcomes of the CRC is the view of children as bearers of rights and as active, participatory members of society.

The articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child concerning the commercial exploitation of children;

In addition to these articles, there is the Additional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Lanzarote Convention
The purpose of the Convention is to prevent and combat sexual exploitation. By adopting the Convention, Sweden has undertaken to take the necessary legislative or other measures to prevent all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, to protect children and to ensure that those who meet the victims have sufficient knowledge of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children.

It also commits to ensuring that investigations and criminal proceedings do not exacerbate the trauma experienced by the child, and that the administration of justice is followed up with assistance, where appropriate. It explicitly states that “Each Party shall ensure that investigations and criminal proceedings are prioritized and conducted without undue delay”. Lanzarote Convention