Child protection: Justice Committee unanimously in favor of tougher penalties

2023-10-12 19:02:00

On Thursday, all parliamentary groups voted for stricter penal provisions for “graphic sexual child abuse material” or similar depictions of underage people. In addition to renaming the offense (instead of “pornographic representations of minors”), the proposed changes to the Criminal Code also include an increase in the punishment range.

When it comes to child abuse material, a distinction is made in terms of the extent of the punishment range between possession or knowingly accessing such material on the Internet versus the production and distribution of such material. The latter carries a prison sentence of up to ten years. In the case of possession of “many” images or pictorial representations of minors, a penalty of up to three years is envisaged. In those in which there are also or exclusively many images or representations of an underage person, up to five years.

“No child should become a victim,” emphasized the Justice Minister in the committee. Protecting children from abuse and violence is everyone’s top priority. According to parliamentary correspondence, applications from the SPÖ and FPÖ for expanded child protection measures were postponed with the votes of the ÖVP and the Greens.