Dutch National Rapporteur Speaking at NYU Law
40 Washington Square South, New York City
Valid ID and RSVP are required for admission. Please email Audrey Watne: watnea@exchange.law.nyu.edu by January 31st to RSVP. The event will be followed by a brief reception.
CHRGJ is pleased to invite you to a lecture featuring Mrs. Corinne Dettmeijer, the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children. The Rapporteur’s main task is to report independently to the Dutch government on the nature and extent of human trafficking and sexual violence against children in the Netherlands, and on the effects of the government policy pursued. The reports contain information on relevant regulations and legislation, as well as information on prevention, criminal investigations, prosecution of perpetrators and victim support. They also contain policy recommendations aimed at improving the fight against human trafficking and sexual violence against children, including child pornography.
About the Lecture
Sexual violence against children has been a globally documented and widespread problem for many centuries. The modern phenomenon of child pornography cannot be regarded as separate from other forms of sexual violence against children; it involves perpetrators and victims and constitutes sexual abuse through images. This problem—and the unique legal challenges it poses—is part of the mandate of the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children. In this lecture, the Rapporteur will provide a brief overview of the legal instruments that can be used to protect children against sexual violence, focusing on the evolution of child pornography as a crime, internationally, in the US, and in the Netherlands, as well as the legal frameworks that have been developed to fight this crime and protect children in the broadest sense.
Employing her vast experience in this area and elaborating on two major child pornography cases as case studies—Paroline v. United States, currently before the Supreme Court, and Robert M. (a case that shocked the Netherlands in 2010)—the Rapporteur will engage the following questions: Are the current international and national legal frameworks sufficient to the task of preventing and prosecuting crimes of sexual violence against children? Is the rule of law capable of keeping up with swift developments in the digital world? Who should be treated as the “perpetrators” of sexual violence against children and what does it mean to be branded a “victim”? What role does the Internet play in current trends of sexual violence against children—is it to blame or is it a blessing in disguise that proof of sexual abuse is now easier to find? To what degree should and can consumers of child pornography be tried as perpetrators of the sexual violence depicted in the pornography in question?
About Corinne Dettmeijer-Vermeulen
After finishing her law degree at Leiden University, Corinne Dettmeijer started her career as a public prosecutor in Rotterdam. Corinne Dettmeijer has for many years been a judge at the district court of The Hague, since 1995 as vice president of the court. As a judge, she handled cases in juvenile, criminal, family and migration law. She has been a member of several (international) professional bodies and advisory committees in the field of juvenile law. Corinne Dettmeijer is vice president at the district court of The Hague, member of the board of the Pro Juventute Foundation and a member of the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI).