Global Progress Towards Ending the Sexual Exploitation of Children
A global problem requires truly global solutions to address the sexual exploitation of children.
Indicators
Age of Consent
No
The age of sexual consent is 14 years for both girls and boys. The national legislation provides for a three years close-in-age exemption.
Analysis of country legislation on age of sexual consent, 2024
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
Partial
Active and passive extraterritoriality is provided for all SEC-related offences covered by the legislation of Austria under Section 64.1(4a) of the Criminal Code. Double criminality is not required.
SEC-related offences can be extraditable if they are punished with at least one year of imprisonment under Austrian law (including child trafficking, serious sexual abuse of minors and potentially other SEC offences) and fulfil the double criminality requirement under Section 11 of the Federal Law on Extradition.
SEC offences are referred to as extraditable under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) framework without requiring double criminality within the EU if the act is punishable by a maximum period of at least three years of imprisonment in the requesting State.
SEC-related offences can be extraditable if they are punished with at least one year of imprisonment under Austrian law (including child trafficking, serious sexual abuse of minors and potentially other SEC offences) and fulfil the double criminality requirement under Section 11 of the Federal Law on Extradition.
Austrian Criminal Code
Federal Law on Extradition
Federal Law on Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters with the EU Member States, 2023
CSAM Definition
No Data
Background Check Required
No Data
National Commitments
No Data
Child Advocacy Centers
No Data
SEC Police Unit
No Data
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
No Data
Public SEC Case Data
No Data
Age of Consent Law is Appropriate
The age of sexual consent for both males and females is 18 and a close in age exemption (up to 3 years) is provided for consensual sexual relationships between adolescents.
The age of sexual consent is the legally defined age at which a person is considered mature enough to agree to sexual activity. The age of sexual consent varies across jurisdictions around the world and there is no international legal instrument establishing it, however various forms of advocacy have encouraged States to establish a minimum age under which engaging in sexual contact is considered a criminal offence. This is intended to prevent sexual contact with children and to prevent argument that the child consented as a defence.
Often national provisions related to the age of sexual consent include an exception, known as a close-in-age exemption, making consensual sexual activities between young people lawful if the partners are of similar ages and the age difference is not higher than a certain number of years.
To ensure that cases of child sexual exploitation do not go unpunished, ECPAT advocates for the age of sexual consent to be set at 18 for both males and females with a close-in-age exemption of 2-3 years provided in order to ensure young people are not penalised for consensual sexual acts with peers. The age from which the exemption applies should be established by States but may begin for young people somewhere between 12 and 16 years of age.
Yes The national legislation explicitly indicates that the age of sexual consent unequivocally is 18 for both males and females, with a close-in-age exemption for sexual acts between peers (of up to 3 years) is provided by law.