ECPAT Norge/Norway (End Child Prostitution and Trafficking Norway/Norge) has the mission to work against all forms of sexual exploitation of children in Norway and internationally in accordance with ECPAT International’s goals and visions.
Contact: Ann-Kristin Vervik
Phone: +47 928 32 848
Address: ECPAT Norway, Øvre Slottsgate 3, 0157, Oslo, Norway
Email: post@ecpatnorge.no
Website: http://www.ecpatnorge.no
Norway is primarily a destination and, to a lesser extent, transit and source country for children subjected to trafficking for sexual purposes. Victims of human trafficking identified in Norway originate usually from Albania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Nigeria, Romania and Syria. Vulnerable children include, among others, children who had disappeared or been recruited from asylum centres by organised trafficking groups.
Amendments to the Norwegian Criminal Code, which entered into effect on January 2016, increased the maximum years of imprisonment for human trafficking from five to six. Police’s ability to use coercive means was also expanded when investigating cases of serious trafficking in persons, as well as cases involving child sexual abuse material. In 2015, the government identified and provided services to 41 children victims of trafficking. To date, there have been around 10 convictions related to minors in the area of human trafficking.
Norwegian country governors have organised courses for kindergarten, school, child welfare and healthcare staff on talking to children about violence and sexual abuse in order to raise awareness and prevent related crimes.
Year: 2023
Year: 2023
Year: Open Letter to the European Commission’s Proposal to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse – English
Year: 2018
Year: 2012
Partial
Age of sexual consent is set at 16 years. Provision for a waiver of penalty exists if the persons involved are approximately equal in age and development, however no specific age-gap is identified.
Norwegian Penal Code (2005), 2021
No
Active extraterritoriality is recognized for SEC related offences in all instances under Section 5 of the Penal Code with regards to Norwegian nationals and residents and nationals or residents of other Nordic countries if they are located in Norway. Passive extraterritoriality is recognized under Section 5 only for offences punished with at least six years of imprisonment under Norwegian law.
SEC related offences can be considered extraditable offences if they are punished with at least one year of imprisonment and fulfil the double criminality principle (Chapter 1, § 3 of the Act on Extradition of Offenders) and Norwegian citizens cannot be extradited unless the requesting State is a EU/Nordic country. Double criminality is also required for extraterritoriality provisions under Section 5 of the Penal Code.
Norwegian Penal Code, Act on Extradition of Offenders, Act relating to arrest and surrender to and from Norway for criminal offences on the basis of an arrest warrant (LOV-2012-01-20-4), 2005 (status as of 2019),1975 (status as of 2019), 2012
Yes
The national legislation includes a definition of child sexual abuse materials which covers any type of material including material depicting a person appearing to be a minor and digitally generated child sexual abuse material.
Norwegian Penal Code 2005, 2021
Yes
The national legislation includes provisions which mandate that the criminal background is checked for every national or non-national applying for work with or for children or who is currently working with or for children, including staff, consultants and volunteers. The national legislation may also prohibit convicted sex offenders to hold positions in both public and private settings involving or facilitating direct contact with children.
The Police Databases Act 2010, 2021
Partial
Norway has ratified the CRC, the OPSC, the Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention No.182.
Norway has also ratified the Council of Europe’s Lanzarote and Budapest Conventions.
Norway has not ratified the OPIC and the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics.
2021
Yes
There are 11 child advocacy centres in Norway, however due to geographical locations some children may not be able to access these.
https://www.statensbarnehus.no/, 2021
Yes
National police units that include sexual exploitation of children in their mandate exist and function effectively. Dedicated allocation of budget is made. Both offences under national and extra-territorial jurisdictions can be addressed by these units.
https://www.politiet.no/en/om/organisasjonen/specialist-agencies/kripos/key-roles-of-ncis/, 2021
Partial
Virke, a company that organises and represents over 24,000 businesses, has published industry-specific standards – the Virke Guidelines for Good Membership Practice – including a recommendation to follow the UNWTO Code of Ethics (which refers directly to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and contains recommendations on preventing the sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism).
Virke, 2021
Not Yet Assessed