European Union: Council of European Union adopted its general approach on Proposal for a Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material

On 13 December 2024, the Council of European Union adopted its general approach on the Proposal for a Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child sexual abuse material (CSA). The general position includes several amendments. First, it updates the definition of criminal offences by obliging member states to criminalise the livestreaming of CSA, including realistic images of CSA, to better respond to deep fake or AI-generated CSA material. Second, the position introduces an offence of providing instructions on how to commit CSA. Third, it increases the penalties for many offences, for example, the abuse of a vulnerable situation of a child to sexually engage with that child. The punishment for this crime now includes a maximum imprisonment sentence of ten years, up from the previous eight. Fourth, it clarifies that engaging in sexual activities with children who have reached the age of consent still requires consent. Fifth, it establishes a long statute of limitations, which runs 10 years for offences punishable by a maximum of five years' imprisonment, and 20 years for offences punishable by a maximum of ten years' imprisonment. Sixth, it requires member states to make available accessible channels for victims to report CSA or child sexual exploitation. Seventh, it demands that victims be provided with medical care, mental health support, and legal counsel. Eighth, it will include rules on temporary accommodation for victims. Ninth, it requires that member states ensure victims can claim compensation. Tenth, it obliges member states to place a system for the dissemination of statistics on offences. The Council will begin negotiations with the Parliament once it has adopted its position.