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 16 years. An exemption from liability has been provided, as long as the young person has provided free consent, there is no violence or intimidation, and that the other person is close in age or at the same level of physical and psychological maturity (art. 183 and 183 quater).
Penal Code as amended by Ley Orgánica 1/2015, 2021
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
Partial
Active and passive extraterritoriality is recognized for SEC related offences but depending on certain conditions (the investigation can only be initiated if the victim or the Public Prosecutor file a lawsuit before a Spanish Court). In these cases the principle of double criminality does not apply.
SEC related offences might be considered extraditable crimes in the different extradition treaties ratified by Spain with the requirement that all extraditable crimes should be punished with at least one year of imprisonment. Double criminality is required for 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.
Organic Law of the Judicial Power, arts. 23.4(k) and 23.6.,
Passive Extradition Law arts. 2 and 3, 2014, 1985 (status of 2009)
CSAM Definition
Partial
The national legislation provides a definition which is partially in line with international standards. The definition provided does not include non-visual material. According to the Prosecutor General's Office (Circular 2/2015), images representing a person who appears to be a child and digitally-generated child sexual abuse material are included in the legal definition.
Penal Code as amended by Ley Orgánica 1/2015, 2021
Background Check Required
Yes
There is a mandatory provision for criminal background checks for any person applying for work with children. This requirement specifically applies to volunteers. Moreover, the legislation prohibits businesses and employers to employ convicted offenders of sexual crimes and trafficking for jobs in close contact with children.
Ley Organica 8/2021, 2021
National Commitments
Partial
Spain has ratified the CRC, the OPSC, the OPIC, the Trafficking Protocol and the ILO Convention No. 182.
Spain has also ratified the Council of Europe's Lanzarote and Budapest Conventions.
Spain has not ratified the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics.
2021
Child Advocacy Centers
Yes
There are pilot experiences of implementation of Barnahus in Autonomous Communities such as Madrid, Navarra, Cantabria and the Basque Country are starting with the implementation. On 29 March 2023, the first Barnahus in Spain was inaugurated in Tarragona, after being in operation since 2020 as a pilot experience (in the framework of the "Barnahus Spain" project of the Council of Europe)
Council of Europe, 2022
SEC Police Unit
Yes
Within the National Police Corps, Family and Women's Care Units exist in all the Provincial Brigades of Judicial Police and Local Commissioners. Within the Civil Guard, there are teams focusing on women and children and covering issues such as gender violence and violence against minors. Personnel of these units are deployed both at the provincial and regional levels. Additional police units exist and operate to tackle crimes of sexual exploitation of children in specific contexts such as online or through trafficking.
Ministry of Defense of Spain, Ministry of the Interior of Spain, 2021
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
No Data
2021
Public SEC Case Data
Partial
Data on cases of some forms of sexual exploitation is publicly available. However, such data is not comprehensive nor disaggregated.
Ministry of the Interior of Spain, 2021
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.