Ruling party wants to ban "textual child pornography"

Like pornographic images and videos of children, "textual child pornography" like the so-called pedophile's handbook must also be prohibited in the Netherlands, according to ruling party VVD. According to the party, "it can not be explained to victims and their parents that textbooks that glorify sexual abuse of children are legal", AD reports.

Child pornography in image and video form is already illegal in the Netherlands, but texts about children being sexually abused are not. As a result, the police and judiciary can do little against things like the "pedophile's handbook", which in detail describes how to lure and groom a child for sexual abuse, how to commit that abuse, and how to make sure you're not found out. This manual is circulating on the internet and also widely shared on dark web forums focussed on child sex abuse.

VVD parliamentarian Jeroen van Wijngaarden fears that this manual can incite people to sexual abuse. He calls on Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus of Justice and Security to amend the law so that "written child pornography" can also be tackled. The MP pointed out that the United Kingdom already did so four years ago and a number of British people have been convicted for possession of items like the "pedophile's handbook".

Grapperhaus previously looked into whether the pedophile manual can be banned, but said that lawyers in his department concluded that a ban is impossible because the manual contains no criminal material.