Sexual exploitation of children
Commercial sexual exploitation of children implies abusive criminal actions of sexual nature, that humiliate children and seriously endanger their physical and psycho-social integrity. Among the most spread forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children are the following: involving children into prostitution; child pornography/images that reflect sexual abuse of children; trafficking of children for sexual exploitation; sexual tourism; early marriages.
Just like the human trafficking, sexual exploitation of children for commercial purposes became a transnational phenomenon.
From June 2012 the Lanzarote Convention came into force in the Republic of, aiming at preventing and combating sexual exploitation and sexual abuse against children; protecting the rights of children victims of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse; promoting cooperation at national and international levels to fight against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse against children.
According to the studies conducted by La Strada (in 2011, 2014 and 2017) on the online safety of children, it can be mentioned that the gaps in the online behavior of children and teenagers did not disappear, and the risks they may face did not decrease. In this regard, in its Strategic Plan for 2016-2020 La Strada intends to continue contributing to the development and implementation of national policies for child protection.