Justice unleashed: Ending limitations, protecting children

One in 5 children in Europe is subject to some kind of sexual violence in their lives. Across the 27 EU member states alone, that equates to more than 16 million children facing life-long stigma, trauma and pain.

This report presents the “postcode lottery” faced by victims and survivors across the European continent when they try to access effective remedial action. Archaic and arbitrary criminal statutes of limitations vary across European countries.

With this report, we showcase why the criminal statutes of limitation (SOLs) for child sexual abuse (CSA) crimes should be abolished across all member states of the Council of Europe. It recommends amending the Lanzarote Convention to include an Optional Protocol to achieve this goal.