A children’s advocacy group is calling for Iceland to toughen up their laws against people who commit sex crimes against children, RÚV reports.
Four years ago, Iceland became a signatory of a European agreement to strengthen the fight against sex crimes against children. However, Iceland still needs to fully confirm its role in the agreement, and to do so means to change current legislation.
As it is now, the maximum sentence for making or distributing material that depicts children in a sexual or pornographic manner is two years in prison. In neighbouring countries, the penalty is much longer. Save The Children Iceland, an advocacy group focusing on protecting children from sex crimes, believes Iceland’s current legislation needs to be changed accordingly.
Save The Children Iceland director Petrea Ásgeirsdóttir told RÚV that Iceland has an obligation to fulfil its role in the European agreement, and that the legislative changes needed have taken far too long. She points out that the parliamentary legal committee had been tasked with putting together suggestions for legislative changes last April, but nothing has yet been put forward in that area.
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