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 15 years, for both girls and boys. The national legislation does not provide for a close-in-age exemption.
Analysis of country legislation on age of sexual consent, 2024
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
No
Active and passive extraterritoriality is provided for all SEC related offences under articles 109 and 110 of the Criminal Code with regards to Polish citizens (not habitual residents) with the conditions that the offence committed abroad is punished with at least two years of imprisonment under Polish law, constitute a crime in the place of commitment and the offender is located in Poland.
SEC related offences can be considered extraditable offences if they fulfil the double criminality principle (article 604.1.2 of the Criminal Procedure Code) and Polish citizens cannot be extradited. Double criminality is required both for extraterritoriality and extradition.
SEC offences are referred to as extraditable under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) framework within the EU without requiring double criminality if the act is punishable by a maximum period of at least three years of imprisonment in the requesting State.
Polish Criminal Code,
Polish Criminal Procedure Code, 1997, 1997
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.