Every fifth child in the world faces sexual exploitation or abuse at some point in their life, it was announced on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention).
"It is estimated that every fifth child faces sexual exploitation or abuse at some point," said the Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni.
The convention was signed on October 25, 2007 on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, and Montenegro ratified the Lanzarote Convention in 2010, which entered into force a year later.
"Such experiences can cause lifelong traumas: hinder formal education, career prospects and result in various mental health problems," said the Deputy General Secretary of the SE.
The Lanzarote Convention deals with the prevention, protection and prosecution of part of the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. It criminalizes such acts as child abuse, child prostitution, child pornography, participation in pornographic performances, spoiling children, as well as soliciting children for sexual purposes.
So far, the Convention has been ratified by 42 member states of the Council of Europe (all except Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom), and it is also open to countries outside Europe.
"It is positive to see the way in which the Convention has raised awareness, changed laws, and improved the capacity of signatory states to protect and respond to sexual crimes against children," Bataini-Dragoni assessed.
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