Even though Norway has seen strong overall growth in the level of income and strong political commitment to eradicating poverty, child poverty has actually increased since the year 2000. There is a link between contributing factors to poverty, violence against children and child sexual abuse and exploitation in Norway.
The real extent of child sexual abuse in Norway remains unknown, however data indicates that the commercial sexual exploitation of children does exist in Norway. A number of studies and various sources indicate that some children in Norway are victims of child prostitution, child trafficking and child pornography, while an imprecise number of Norwegian nationals continue to engage in commercial sex with children during their travels abroad. According to the Norwegian Institute for Labour and Social Research, at least 3,000 people engaged in prostitution in Norway in 2008. Most of the sex workers in Norway come from foreign countries and are victims of human trafficking.
In addition to discussing the problem, the ECPAT International Country Monitoring Report for Norway highlights priority actions to be adopted in order to address the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of children in the country, such as: the need for cooperation agreements with countries of origin of child victims of trafficking, and improving coordination at national and municipal levels to ensure effective and comprehensive assistance and support for vulnerable children.
To understand more about the current situation in Norway, you can read the full report here