Child sex abuse: Where in the EU is it time-barred and where’s it not?

A “postcode lottery”. This is how child support organisations are describing access to justice for sexual abuse offences in the EU.

Child sexual abuse is widespread across the bloc, with one in five children affected. For many survivors, speaking out can take decades.

Victims file their criminal reports when they are 52 on average, if they choose to disclose at all, according to a new joint report by Brave Movement and Child Global.

That means that the clock of justice might have already run out when they come forward, because the statute of limitations (SOL) has expired, barring them from pressing charges.

Which countries have the longest limitation periods?

The legislative picture across the bloc is extremely fragmented. A few countries have erased SOL periods altogether for most child sexual offences, while elsewhere, there is no grace period, and time starts running out from the moment the crime is committed.

In countries such as Belgium, Hungary, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark, limitation periods have been abolished for most, if not all, cases of child sexual abuse.

Others, such as Austria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and Romania, have only removed it for the most severe offences and retained it for others.

For example, in Slovenia, the limitation period for grooming is only six years. Similarly, Romania has a SOL for grooming, as well as sexual harassment.

In the rest of the EU, limitation periods still apply to all offences. In some of these countries, however, the clock doesn’t start ticking until the victim reaches adulthood.

In Germany, the most severe crimes can be prosecuted till the victim turns 60. In Spain, the limit is 55, in France, 48 and in Italy, it’s 46.

Where do victims face the highest time pressure to file charges?

The report classifies countries such as Finland, Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia as the least safe in that sense, with the shortest time spans for survivors to press charges.

For example, in Finland, the SOL is 20 years from the date of the alleged crime, though for most offences, the law says the right to press charges can’t expire before the victim is 28, and it can extend to a maximum age of 38, if, for example, the survivor suffered the abuse at 17.

Lithuania has a limitation period for the most serious crimes of 25 years, and intermediate SOLs of 15, 12 and eight years, to a minimum of seven. Regardless, the limitation period in Lithuania can’t run out before the victim is 25.

In Bulgaria, the maximum SOT is 20 years, and, unlike in Finland, Lithuania and Slovakia, there’s no minimum age before the right to press charges expires.

So, for example, if someone is abused at the age of three, they will lose the right to file a report when turning 24.

Child rights organisations call for minimum SOL of 35 years

“Due to freedom of movement, the existence of safe havens for child sexual abuse offenders in some EU countries generates a safeguarding risk for all EU countries,” warns the report.

Proposals to abolish or significantly expand SOLs gained great consensus among EU member states at the June 2024 Lanzarote Committee meeting in Strasbourg, as reflected by the final resolution.

“The Committee agreed that the abolition of limitation periods, while not explicitly required by the Lanzarote Convention, was an effective way to ensure there is sufficient time to initiate proceedings,” it said.

Brave Movement and Child Global say, “at the very least, the EU should agree to a minimum limitation period of 35 years for all offences from the age of majority”, which means the right to justice would only expire when they are 53.