Norræn ráðstefna um kynferðisofbeldi gegn börnum og forvarnir
Conference on Sexual Abuse against Children
Preventive Measures in the Nordic Countries
Address by Eygló Harðardóttir, Minister of Social Affairs and Housing
Honoured guests and Nordic friends.
I bid you all a hearty welcome to this conference and I find it encouraging to know that people are gathered here who are concerned with the issues at hand – persons with knowledge, interest and a strong will to fight the horrible crime of child abuse.
Child abuse is a widespread problem and a very complicated task to tackle. No community is immune and the problem is well concealed. For a long time, people refused to face reality and the existence of child sexual abuse was shrouded in silence and secrecy. This is a part of the nature of the crime, which is often committed under the protection of personal privacy of the home where the children believe they are safe and have confidence in the abuser. This is a well-known picture of sexual child abuse, but there are many more sides to such abuse; the problem is profound and its roots are spread wide and far.
In order to successfully fight sexual abuse of children and its serious effect a clear policy is needed, as well as great deal of work and strong interdisciplinary and international cooperation. It was therefore an important milestone when the Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse was concluded in Lanzarote on October 25th 2007. At present – six years later – after the Convention's passage – all the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe have signed it and 32 have ratified it, Iceland amongst them which completed the ratification in the autumn of 2012.
The Lanzarote Convention is the only international agreement that covers all types of sexual child abuse. It is very comprehensive and deals equally with prevention, treatment and support for victims, the response of the child protection and justice system, demands upon the penal code for sexual crimes and last but not least with international cooperation.
In the preamble to the Convention it is observed that the sexual and other abuse of children has increased alarmingly, especially in connection with innovations in the areas of information and communications technology. There is a special reference to the importance of international cooperation for this reason. We all know of instances where abusers have concealed their identity on the Internet and established connections with children for the purpose of abusing them. We also know that international pornography rings thrive on the Internet where child pornography is bought and sold. The production of such material is a prerequisite for its purchase and sale, and I cannot express in words the horror embodied in the production of such material. Ruthless criminal gangs are behind serious crimes such as trafficking in children, child prostitution and the production and distribution of child pornography. Strong and widespread cooperation is needed to defeat such gangs.
If we are to succeed in the international fight against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children, we need to ensure that certain acts are made punishable by law, and the Lanzarote Convention contains provisions to that effect.
Such coordination facilitates the fight against sexual abuse and can for instance prevent abusers from selecting countries where such crimes go unpunished. Such coordination can also aid in increasing cooperation between states and help them in the exchange of information.
We will get to hear more on the Lanzarote Convention later on in the talk of Mr. Bragi Guðbrandsson, the Director of the Government Agency for Child Protection who is also the chairman of the Lanzarote Committee of the Council of Europe that has the main task of supervising the implementation of the Convention.
Ladies and gentlemen.
Although we know that the extent of child abuse has increased, as I observed earlier, we also know that society has become increasingly conscious of the problem and has ceased denying it, as it did in earlier years. Therefore, there is no direct connection between the increase in the number of cases discovered and the number of offenses; this is rather a sign that cases are being actively responded to, whereas before they we ignored, suppressed or never discovered.
The knowledge gained since such instances began to be openly discussed has made society better equipped to analyse the problem and respond to it. It is self-evident that people do not look for something they do not know that exists and can only find by coincidence. That is the way it was before. Nowadays, there are professionals that are well informed, such as teachers, health professionals, social workers and other occupations that work with children. We now have knowledge and resources that were not there before.
Knowledge enables people to detect certain signs which indicate that children have become the victims of sexual abuse. We have professionals that can deal with such cases and means have been prepared that are constantly under development in order to work with the victims and provide them and their families with assistance. I would especially like to mention the Children´s House that was established in Iceland in 1999 after an American model and today is seen as a well-known tool in the Nordic countries and elsewhere in Europe.
Everything that is done to prevent crimes against children is important. It is nevertheless clear that this type of crime will never be fully eradicated and it is therefore also important to emphasise assistance to the victims of sexual violence and abuse. This will be one of the topics dealt with here, to which I look forward, especially to hear about the main tasks currently under way in the Nordic countries.
Ladies and gentlemen.
I am pleased to see how many persons are participating in this conference from all the Nordic countries. It is important that this cooperation has a long and successful record. It is obvious that we, the people of the Nordic countries, are related, and that our history and cultural heritage is intertwined. We share the same ideology and community values and have in many respects a similar view on people and issues of the day. We are therefore blessed with common understanding and therefore the Nordic peoples find it easier to share their experiences and knowledge. And our cooperation has been fruitful over the years – and therefore I know that our cooperation will continue to be fruitful in the future, not the least for the welfare of our children.
Thank you.