A/HRC/43/40 87. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the development of the Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse as an important step to support States in their efforts to harmonize and review the relevant legal and policy definitions.64 The language proposed in the document reduces stigmatization and secondary victimization of children. 2. Legislation 88. The adoption on 30 May 2019 by the Committee on the Rights of the Child of the guidelines regarding the implementation of the Optional Protocol is another welcome contribution to providing clarity on a number of legal obligations. 65 89. One of the issues addressed in the guidelines, and repeatedly emphasized by the Special Rapporteur, is the need to differentiate between the concepts of “sale of children” and “trafficking in children” in national legislation. Many States have legislation prohibiting trafficking in persons, but fail to criminalize the sale of children as a separate crime, or they consider it only as part of the crime of trafficking in children. 66 While the categories frequently overlap, the main difference is that the ultimate aim of the sale of children is to obtain a form of remuneration from the sale. Moreover, the exploitative purpose, which is one of the constituent elements of trafficking, is not required to constitute the crime of sale. The sale of children also lacks the requirement of the physical movement of the child from one place to another, which is a key element of the concept of trafficking. These distinctions are relevant in order to criminalize all illegal activities in this area. 90. The guidelines also remind States that child victims of offences under the Optional Protocol cannot be subjected to sanctions as offenders. Instead, they should receive appropriate support. In this context, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that many States still allow the criminalization of children who are exploited in prostitution or begging or subjected to other crimes of sale and sexual exploitation. 91. Criminalization of the sale and sexual exploitation of children through the use of ICT, including the manifestations highlighted in this report, remains a challenge for many States. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated that child sexual abuse material, defined in article 2 of the Optional Protocol as “any representation, by whatever means, of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes”, includes a broad range of material available in online and offline situations. 92. In the context of increasing availability of material that contributes to the normalization of child sexual abuse, the Special Rapporteur welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court of Norway in September 2019 that sex dolls mimicking child-like qualities represent the sexualization of children and violate criminal law. 67 93. Another major problem is the lack of coherent legislative provisions across different countries. This not only sustains impunity, but it also enables perpetrators and undermines transnational police investigations by blocking efforts to identify victims, arrest and prosecute the perpetrators and remove harmful material from the Internet. 94. Among other gaps in national legislation, it is important to highlight statutes of limitations that prevent prosecutions, and the simple fact that criminal investigations cannot be initiated unless on the basis of a complaint by the victim, who is often scared or ashamed to come forward. This fear is then compounded by families that opt to settle the case with the perpetrator. Another cause of concern are the low penalties that are not commensurate 64 65 66 67 The guidelines were adopted in 2016 by an inter-agency working group that brought together representatives of civil society, regional bodies, specialized agencies, United Nations agencies, human rights mechanisms and academia. See http://luxembourgguidelines.org. OHCHR, “UN Committee launches guidelines on combating child sexual exploitation and the sale of children in the digital age”, 26 September 2019. CRC/C/OPSC/CZE/CO/1, para. 9; CRC/C/OPSC/GEO/CO/1, para. 10; CRC/C/OPSC/LKA/CO/1, para. 9; CRC/C/OPSC/RUS/CO/1, para. 27; and CRC/C/OPSC/USA/CO/3-4, paras. 8–9. Norway, Supreme Court, HR-2019-1715-A (case no. 19-78768STR-HRET), Judgment, 10 September 2019. Available (in Norwegian) at www.domstol.no/globalassets/upload/hret/avgjorelser/2019/ september-2019/hr-2019-1715-anonymisert.pdf. 15