Damages for possession of child pornography: legal possibilities and practical obstacles

July’s Chronicle, the journal of the International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates (IAYFJM), featured an article about compensation for possession of child pornography written by Dutch National Rapporteur Ms. Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen and researcher at her office Linda van Krimpen. This journal is published bi-annually in three languages: English, French, and Spanish. The article by Dettmeijer and Van Krimpen was printed previously in Praktijkwijzer Strafrecht, a Dutch journal about criminal law.

Watching child pornography is not a victimless offence. The knowledge that child pornography in which they figure is circulating forever on the Internet can cause the victim great psychological harm. Therefore, it is just that perpetrators of this offence should be liable for the damage that possession of child pornography causes the victims. However, the nature of the offence raises a number of legal and practical issues which are discussed in this article.

More information

News article (in Dutch) with the original article as published in Praktijkwijzer Strafrecht