Background and Rationale

Violence against children, including child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA), is estimated to affect millions of children worldwide and no country or region is immune. It has the potential to impact upon children in all socio-economic groups, of all educational levels, and across all ethnic and cultural groups. While data about sexual exploitation of all children is generally lacking, this is even more so when looking at boys specifically. For example, in the rare cases that countries collect prevalence data on sexual exploitation and abuse of children, samples are often limited to adolescent girls, obscuring any understanding of the unique experiences and vulnerabilities of boys. In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the gap in the global understanding of how boys are impacted by sexual exploitation, and the limited evidence available suggests that in certain contexts, boys are just as heavily impacted as girls, and in some contexts, maybe even more. Boys – regardless of whether they are heterosexual or of diverse sexual orientation – may also face legal consequences in countries where homosexuality is criminalised, as is the case in Belgium, if they disclose that they were victimised by an offender of the same sex.

The influence of gender norms around masculinity and femininity are important to consider in understanding child sexual exploitation and abuse, and we can observe that what is attributed to one gender, is often denied to others. These norms typically hold that males are strong and invulnerable, less likely to be victimised and seriously affected, and more resilient – while females are considered vulnerable, more often abused, more significantly affected and in need of support. Such beliefs often hamper equitable and necessary discourse on the sexual exploitation of children of all genders, but especially for boys where the development of policies, practices, advocacy, and research methodologies about the sexual exploitation of children regularly underrepresents, or even completely excludes boys. “While many vulnerability factors for sexual exploitation and abuse are common to all genders, boys’ access to support is unquestioningly conditioned by gender norms, constraining their help-seeking behaviour and their ability to seek care.”

While these circumstances should by no means detract attention from continued research, advocacy, and support for girls subjected to sexual exploitation, there is a clear need for greater advocacy, understanding and a higher quality evidence-base on the sexual exploitation of children of all genders, to better inform all work to prevent and respond appropriately to their needs.

A Global Boys’ Initiative

As the programmatic responses to identify and meet the needs of boys are scarce, ECPAT International launched the Global Boys’ Initiative to explore the sexual exploitation of boys, activating our worldwide network of member organisations in a range of research and response activities focused on boys. To meet the initial challenge of such limited data, in 2020-21, the Global Boys’ Initiative embarked on a series of research projects in ten countries around the world, to shed light on understanding sexual exploitation involving boys, what factors lead to their vulnerability and increased risk, and what their needs are in terms of prevention, protection and support services. Much of this initial research phase was generously funded by SIDA, which allowed primary research to be conducted through partnerships between the ECPAT International secretariat and national ECPAT member organisations.

Analysis of Belgium’s legal framework

ECPAT Belgium has been at the forefront of actions to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation of children in Belgium since 1994. ECPAT Belgium and ECPAT International partnered to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Belgian legal framework which addresses various crimes related to the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, with a focus on boys.

The legislative analysis used a standard checklist including approximately 120 points and subpoints that was created by ECPAT International for the Global Boys Initiative. Staff from ECPAT Belgium explored the national legislation and completed the checklist, followed by research by ECPAT International using this information to inform further analysis and compile this narrative report.

INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COMMITMENTS

Belgium has demonstrated a strong commitment to the protection of children’s rights through ratifying several international and regional instruments to protect children against sexual exploitation. The main international instrument underpinning the protection and defence of children’s rights is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 6 which was ratified by Belgium as early as 1991. This convention is the primary international document that contains provisions to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. Further, Belgium also signed the Stockholm Declaration and Agenda for Action in 1996 which was created as a result of the first World Congress against sexual exploitation of children.7 These commitments exhibit Belgium’s early engagement and desire to address and stamp out the sexual exploitation of children.

In 2000, in response to the rising concern of trafficking of children for sexual exploitation as well as other forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography8 was adopted. This Protocol was ratified by Belgium in 2006, emphasising its continued engagement with the international response to the sexual exploitation of children.

In 2014, in order to give access to the international redressal system to children who have not been able to enforce their rights and seek justice through national mechanisms, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communication Procedure was adopted and Belgium ratified it the same year, again showing strong willingness to support children, giving them a voice in speaking out against the injustices they face.

Going further than the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its associated protocols, there are numerous instruments that have been adopted by the international community in its attempt to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse. The International Labour Organisation Convention No. 182 Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour was ratified by Belgium in 2002, and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in persons, Especially Women and Children supplementing the UN convention against Transnational Organised Crime (UN Trafficking Protocol)11 in 2004. Through ratifying these instruments and agreeing to ensure their effective implementation and enforcement Belgium has endeavoured to adopt legislative measures to effectively prohibit the forms of sexual exploitation of children prescribed within.

Belgium has also been active and has engaged on a more regional level. Belgium ratified a number of important instruments that form the backbone of the regional response to the sexual exploitation of children. It ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on 27 April 2009, signifying its intent to combat the trafficking of human beings and to protect the human rights of, and guarantee protection and assistance to, all of its victims. In addition, Belgium ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime on 20 August 2012. This Convention prescribes a number of offences relating to online child sexual exploitation and underlines Belgium’s pledge to safeguard children from the online threats to which they may be vulnerable. Finally, the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote Convention) was ratified on 8 March 2013.14 In doing so, Belgium recognised the need to focus on the preventive, protective and criminal law aspects of the fight against all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children.

Belgium’s response and commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 set by the United Nations has also been exemplary. Council of Europe Convention on Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse. (2007). United Nations General Assembly. (2015). “Transforming our world : the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. A/RES/70/1, 21 October 2015. 16 Government of Belgium. (2017). Pathways to Sustainable Development: First Belgian National Voluntary Review on the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda. In 2017, Belgium submitted its Voluntary National Review, reporting on the progress it had made thus far on achieving each of the goals. The report highlights the country’s engagement with protecting children by detailing its efforts to tackle issues such as sexual violence, forced marriage and trafficking. This is done through numerous national action plans, including one that targets human trafficking specifically.

Read or download full report here.