Child Prostitution
The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
Kingdom of Denmark [ Country-by-Country Reports ]
The Kingdom of Denmark [map] is located in N Europe and is bordered by Germany (S), the North Sea (W), the Skagerrak (N), and the Kattegat and the Øresund (E). Copenhagen is Denmark's capital, largest city, and chief industrial center. Because of high GDP per capita, welfare benefits, a low Gini index, and political stability, the Danish people enjoy living standards topped by no other nation. A major long-term issue will be the sharp decline in the ratio of workers to retirees.
CAUTION: The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Denmark. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated, misleading or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.
ECPAT - On-line form for reporting child prostitution and other sexual offences against children
Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Denmark), and Years Missing
National Plan of Action
Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS - The country was both a destination and a transit point for women and children who were trafficked from the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Thailand, and Africa for the purposes of sexual exploitation and occasionally to work as thieves. Traffickers lured victims with the prospect of higher wages and a better life, then forced them into prostitution, often withholding their passports.
Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001
[42] The Committee is aware of the efforts of the State party to prevent and combat sexual abuse and exploitation, including the recent establishment of an information collection system on sexual abuse. The Committee is concerned about the lack of awareness about child abuse and exploitation and the inadequate efforts to address child pornography. The Committee also notes the need for training for professionals working with and for child victims of abuse, including police officers, lawyers and social workers.
Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
[9] The Committee welcomes the adoption in March 2003 of the law on combating child pornography, sexual exploitation of children and sale of children, and the establishment in August 2003 of an action plan on combating sexual abuse of children.
[19] The Committee notes with concern that, in spite of the measures taken by the State party, Denmark continues to face problems of child pornography, sexual exploitation of children, and trafficking in women and children.
ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC]
[B] COUNTRY UPDATES - DENMARK - ECPAT Denmark has launched a code of conduct with two Danish travel companies and has carried out training for tourist guides. It has also been discussing child sex tourism with other Scandinavian ECPAT groups. Work against child pornography on the Internet has continued through a hotline funded by the government. ECPAT Denmark has also been active in the field of child participation. It conducted a workshop on CSEC, where youngsters wrote a letter to the world at a Danish Youth Council seminar. The letter was taken by 2 of the Danish youth participants to the UN General Assembly Special Session PrepCom in New York in June 2001.
Report by Special Rapporteur - 2003
[39] In June 2002, Parliament adopted a bill on new legislation concerning trafficking in human beings, including children for sexual purposes, in accordance with the EU Framework Decision on combating trafficking in human beings. The clients of prostitutes under the age of 18 are criminalized under the Criminal Code with a maximum term of two years' imprisonment. Sexual relations with any child (a) under 15; or (b) under 12, or if coercion or intimidation has been used, is punishable with imprisonment for a maximum of 6 years or 10 years, respectively. Legislation concerning child pornography has been amended several times and the bill planned to be put before Parliament in 2003 is expected to suggest raising the maximum penalty for distribution and possession of child pornography and broadening the definition to include material portraying "representations" of child pornography.
An Important Step in Denmark Concerning Child Trafficking
In September 2005 The Danish Government made an appendix to the governmental plan of action to combat trafficking in women. The appendix includes child trafficking, primarily children trafficked in preparation for sexual exploitation.
Trafficking in children in Denmark
Children are sold to Denmark from impoverished countries to participate in crime, prostitution or both. This was documented in a study published by Save the Children Denmark in December 2003 (below).
Trafficking in Children to Denmark - December 2003 [PDF]
SEXUAL EXPLOITATION - No actual statistics of registered trafficking victims exist in Denmark, or of trafficking victims of sexual exploitation. There is disagreement as to the extent to which foreign children suffer commercial sexual exploitation. Representatives from the Danish National Police force do not feel that the problem is particularly widespread, as they have no specific knowledge of trafficking in minors as a problem in Denmark. In a recent nationwide survey of massage clinics and brothels, police did not reportedly encounter children in these environments.
Prostitution and its Context in Denmark
A recent round table discussion between the police, social workers in contact with the prostitution milieu, and the social counselors for parents and children in crisis, concluded that there is no child prostitution involving children below the age of consent (15 years) in Denmark. The flow of teenagers into street prostitution is rather limited, especially for teenagers under 18. The owners of bars and massage parlors are generally very careful not to let in persons younger than 21 years, as this is illegal and might give the police an opportunity to intervene. Thus, most prostitutes start work after they reach 20 in massage parlors or bars. A relatively small group start at a younger age and do so on the streets.
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the Baltic Sea Region
Although statistical data on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children are lacking in every country in the Baltic Sea Region, it is known to the Police that occasionally there are prostitutes of the age of 15 or 16 in the streets in Denmark (Danish National Police).
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