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
Partial
Age of sexual consent is 18 but this only applies to sexual intercourse outside marriage.
Marriage minimum age is 18 with few exceptions for children aged above 15.
ECO Iraq, 2019
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
No
Active extraterritoriality is provided for SEC related offences and requires double criminality. Passive extraterritoriality is not provided for.
Extradition requires double criminality and a minimum gravity of two years of imprisonment in the requesting state. Extradition of a person already sentenced by the requesting state requires a sentence of at least 6 months of imprisonment. The criminal code does not allow for extradition of Iraqi nationals.
ECO Iraq, 2019
CSAM Definition
No
The national legislation does not provide a definition of CSAM which is in line with international standards.
ECO Iraq, 2019
Background Check Required
Not Yet Assessed
National Commitments
Partial
Iraq has ratified the CRC, the OPSC, the Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention No. 182.
Iraq has not ratified the OPIC, the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics nor the Council of Europe's Lanzarote and Budapest Conventions.
ECO Iraq, 2019
Child Advocacy Centers
Not Yet Assessed
SEC Police Unit
Not Yet Assessed
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
Not Yet Assessed
Public SEC Case Data
No
Data on SEC cases is not publicly available.
ECO Iraq, 2019
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.