Tal Rio de Janeiro, Brasilien 26 november 2008
Göran Hägglund, Socialminister

Göran Hägglund's speech to World Congress III against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents

Obs! Det talade ordet gäller!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Twelve years ago, Sweden hosted the first World Congress against the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. Today I am glad to see that interest in, and commitment to, this extremely important issue has not waned since then, but that there are so many of us who have now gathered here in Rio de Janeiro. I am also extremely pleased to have been given this opportunity to take part in the Congress. I would like to express great thanks to the Brazilian government and the other organisers for undertaking to arrange this Congress.

Every day children become the victims of sexual offences and abuse in different parts of the world. Each individual case is a profound tragedy leaving deep wounds that may perhaps never heal. These abuses shatter hopes and dreams and eat away at the self-esteem of the children involved. The sexual abuse of children is a crime against the fundamental human rights of the child. Regardless of the form it takes or the country in which the abuse occurs. Sexual exploitation of children is conditional on the child being subjected to sexual abuse, and our knowledge and experience confirms that this makes it more difficult for the child to recover, regardless of whether or not the exploitation was of a commercial nature.

It is the responsibility of all of us as adults - parents, public officials, representatives of NGOs, politicians - to become involved in the fight against such destructive activities. In Sweden we are continually working with these issues in broad political consensus, both nationally and internationally, including in our development cooperation.

A very important basis for working to combat the sexual exploitation of children is, of course, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Work on combating the sexual exploitation of children is often of such a nature that we have to cooperate across national borders and through broad alliances.

Several policies and action plans for Sweden's international activities stress the importance of this. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Optional Protocols are a common basis on which to stand in our efforts to effectively combat these serious contraventions of the rights of the child. It is important to work in various contexts towards changed attitudes to the rights of the child, so that these are taken increasingly seriously. We therefore urge all countries to sign and ratify The Convention and its twoOptional Protocols.

At the end of last year the Swedish Government decided to revise, for the second time, the national action plan against the commercial sexual exploitation of children, which was originally drawn up in 1998. The Government also decided last summer on an action plan against prostitution and trafficking in human beings for sexual purposes. In connection with the latter action plan, approximately USD 25 million, will be invested in measures in this area up to 2010.

Several of these measures involve children and young people. These action plans provide another important basis for me and my colleagues in the Government in our work on strengthening our measures to combat the sexual exploitation of children.

In many parts of the world today, children have access to information and ways of communication and expression that we could never have dreamed of when we grew up. The Internet gives them extraordinary opportunities to exercise their right to information, express their views and take part in society. In essence, the Internet is something very positive and useful, particularly for children. But the Internet is also associated with risks, especially for children and young people.

In a Swedish survey from 2005, 7500 children between the ages of 15 and 16 were asked about the experiences they had had of sexual contacts from adults. Just over 30 per cent of those children - and more girls than boys - stated that in the past year they had been the object of some form of contact with a sexual implication from a person previously unknown to them that they thought or knew was an adult. The majority of these children had been contacted via the Internet.

One way to protect children on the Internet is to provide them and their parents and other adults with information. A greater awareness will help children to avoid the risks and pitfalls and enable them to benefit from the extraordinary possibilities that the Internet provides. At the EU level, the Commission's programme "Safer Internet Plus" has proved to be a useful tool for the promotion of safer use of the Internet among children. It is not easy to change the sometimes risky behaviour of young people. This is why we see a need to constantly update and develop these information and awareness programmes in order to fully prevent children and young people from coming to harm.

The Swedish Government has recently taken the initiative for a few measures that I would like to mention particularly while we are speaking about the risks of children being exploited sexually on the Internet. The Government has given the Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs the task of promoting the general prevention of sexual exploitation of children and young people on the Internet. The Board will conduct a survey among children and young people to increase knowledge about their attitudes to, and experiences of, sexual exposure and sexual exploitation. This study will be the basis for developing material to be used in preventive work with children and young people. It will also be used for the education of adults working with young people. And as recently as last week I met representatives of companies active within the ICT industry. We discussed what we jointly - and each of us separately - can do to strengthen the protection of children on the Internet. We are holding a similar dialogue with the travel industry to draw attention to the problem of the sexual exploitation of children in connection with tourism and travel.

An important tool in combating the sexual exploitation of children is criminal legislation. I would like at this point to mention two legislative projects currently underway in Sweden. Since 1999, all dealings with child pornography, including possession, have in principle been criminalised in Sweden. Another proposal being prepared is the criminalisation of actions that entail people gaining access to child pornographic pictures without them actually being in possession of such pictures.

An example of such a situation is where people can pay to view child pornographic material that is available via certain websites; what is known as pay-per-view sites. A proposal is currently being prepared at the Swedish Government Offices that would criminalise adult contact with children for sexual purposes, termed "grooming". The aim is to present a Government Bill to the Swedish parliament by next spring at the latest.

It can be very difficult to discover and determine whether a child has been the victim of trafficking. Among the public agencies that may meet these childrenare the social service agencies, the police service and migration authorities. To be able to determine whether a child may have been a victim of trafficking requires knowledge and skills among public officials at agencies. This is necessary in order to fully safeguard the rights of the child. UNICEF Sweden and the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare have therefore produced a booklet - a check list as it were - concerning children who may have been victims of trafficking, and that targets public agencies. I believe that this booklet will become an important tool for agencies in identifying these children and protecting them.

A Working Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk has existed in the Council of the Baltic Sea States since 2002. One of the Working Group's areas of focus involves children who are the victim of sexual abuse and trafficking. The Working Group has established a network in the Baltic Sea region enabling children who are the victims of trafficking to be given, quickly and informally, the support and assistance to which they are entitled.

Eleven states around the Baltic Sea, including Sweden, are contributing financially and in other ways to this cooperation. At this Congress, the Working Group will present its work at no fewer than four workshops, which I am very pleased about, particularly since Sweden is currently chairing the Group.

I would like to conclude by saying once again how delighted I am to be able to attend this Congress where there is such great commitment to the rights of the child. Those of us who are present here have different roles. We are members of governments, organisations and other associations. All of us have a responsibility, in different ways, for working to fight the sexual exploitation of children. Regardless of the role we play, we bear joint responsibility and I am convinced that the experience and knowledge exchanged in the next few days will be very valuable to all of our continued efforts in this area.

Thank you!