By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – Over 1,000 adults and teens are facing charges for distribution of child pornography in Denmark.

Authorities in Denmark have charged approximately 1,000 Danes with distribution of child pornography after a video depicting sex between two fifteen-year olds was shared online.

The Danish national police’s cyber crimes unit reported that all but eight of the individuals charged are under the age of 25. Several fourteen-year olds who distributed the video are being spared charges.

The video clips in question, one fifty seconds long and one nine seconds long, were distributed through the Facebook Messenger App. The videos were recorded in March of 2015 and depict two teenagers engaging in sexual acts.

The videos reportedly depict a girl being penetrated with foreign objects. The girl stated she consented to the sex but not to the video being recorded or distributed. In a 2016 interview, she stated, “I tried to forget that evening. I knew that it was filmed, but I didn’t realize they would think of passing the videos on to others.” She later stated that the video was used in order to blackmail her in to sending nude photos of herself to the individual who recorded it.

After the clip was posted to the live feed, Facebook contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States, who in turn contacted Dutch authorities.

Consensual sex between fifteen-year olds in Denmark is legal. However, the distribution of videos of teens engaged in sex violates Denmark’s child pornography laws. The minimum age for legal distribution of pornography is 18.

If convicted, those found guilty could face up to 20 days in prison. The conviction would remain on their records for ten years, during which time they could not become law enforcement officers or take certain positions working with children.

Mira Bech, a nineteen-year old who stated she saw the video and stored it, claimed “This will ruin my life. The world’s most ridiculous case. I couldn’t tell that the people in the video were under 18.”

The topic of explicit images being shared over social media without consent is not a new topic in Denmark. Emma Holten, who campaigns against bullying, said, “Four years ago, I would have felt sorry for them,” she said. “Back then you could have argued that they were not aware of that it was illegal, but today they know.”

For more information, please see:

CNN – Danish Police Charge 1,000 Young People With ‘Distribution of Child Porn’ – 16 January 2018

Newsweek – Child Porn Video Gets More Than 1,000 People Charged in Denmark for Sharing it – 16 January 2018

The New York Times – 1,000 Danes Accused of Child Pornography for Sharing Video of Teens – 16 January 2018

The Washington Post – Hundreds of Teens in Denmark Suspected of Sending Child Porn – 16 January 2018

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – More than 150 instances of rape and assault have been uncovered by police in a remote region in Norway.

An investigation was conducted by police beginning in June 2016, after a Norwegian newspaper published accounts from 11 men and women who said they were assaulted. The police report documents 151 assaults spanning the period of 1953 to 2017.

Approximately 90% of the suspects and victims are part of the indigenous Sami community, who originally inhabited northern Scandinavia. The Sami community now lives in parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. The community has an estimated population of 40,000 to 60,000.

The crimes span several generations, with some of the assaults dating back to 1953. The most recent crime occurred this past August. All of the crimes took place in a rural municipality called Tysfjord, which has a population of only 2,000.

Forty-three of the assaults were rapes, including of three children. Sexual intercourse with children under fourteen years of age is alleged to have occurred in 40 of the cases. The youngest victim is four years old.

Ninety-two suspects have been identified. They range in age from ten to eighty.

The Sami Parliamentary Council is an elected body representing the Sami people’s interests in Norway. Its president, Vibeke Larsen, called the scandal “a national tragedy” and urged Norwegian authorities to assist.

Larsen cited mistrust of the police as one of the reasons for the crimes going unreported. The Sami “don’t trust the police as much as the Norwegians do,” Larsen said. The Sami people have been told to become “good Norwegians and leave their own culture, language and symbols behind. That’s why they have distrust in the system.”

Head of Nordland County, Tone Vangen, acknowledged that the police “didn’t do a good job”, but also noted that the mechanisms within the Sami environment make it more difficult for police to investigate such crimes.

Anne Lindboe, ombudsman for the children involved, said “there has been a huge failure in the whole safety net that should have been around the children who have been subjected to abuse in Tysfjord.”

The police have acknowledged the mistakes made and stated that one of the aims of the investigation is to instill greater trust of Norwegian police in the Sami community.

Two people have been charged in ten cases so far, but many have been dropped due to the statute of limitations expiring.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Norway Police Uncover 150 Cases of Rape and Assault in Remote Region – 29 November 2017

Time – Rape and Child Sex Abuse in Remote Area Have Gone Largely Unreported and Uninvestigated, Police Say – 29 November 2017

USA Today – Norway Reeling After Multiple Rapes, Sex Assaults Uncovered Near Lapland – 29 November 2017

The Independent – Norwegian Police Uncover More Than 150 Rapes , Including of Children in Remote Region – 30 November 2017

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

LONDON, England – An Anglican minister has sparked criticism for urging Christians to pray for Prince George to be gay in order to garner support for same-sex marriages in the Church of England.

The controversial remarks can be found in a blog post titled “How to Change the Church of England”, and expound on plans for getting the Anglican Church to accept same-sex marriage. The post also asks congregants to pray “for the Lord to bless Prince George with a love, when he grows up, of a fine young gentleman”.

The post was made by Reverend Kelvin Holdsworth nearly two years ago and has since gone viral when the blog resurfaced after the announcement of Prince Harry’s recent engagement to Meghan Markle.

Although same-sex marriages have been recognized legally in England since 2013, they are not recognized by the Church of England.

Reverend Holdsworth is a provost at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Glasgow and is a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, a division of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is distinct from, but related to the Church of England. The Anglican Communion this year voted to allow clergy to solemnize gay marriages.

Holdsworth is known for making controversial statements. However, some found this blog post crossed the line.

Gavin Ashenden, a missionary bishop for the Christian Episcopal Church, told the BBC, “to use prayer as a mechanism for wishing this on Prince George is an unkind and destructive thing to do. It doesn’t have the prince’s best interests at heart, but uses him as a gender-political football.”

Prince George is third in line to the British throne, after his grandfather, Prince Charles and his father, Prince William. Prince George will become the head of the Church of England if he becomes the King of England.

Passages from the post have been widely disseminated on Twitter, with many users claiming that Holdworth’s post is excessively politically incorrect.

Holdsworth has since apologized for the outrage his post sparked, but indicated that his words have been misinterpreted and encouraged further discussion on the divisive topic.

“The issues about the church and its capacity to welcome same-sex couples who want to be married remain important,” Holdsworth said. “I’m not interested in continuing it through a conversation about Prince George. I would urge others, those who agree with me strongly and those who disagree with me strongly to turn our attentions to the actual matter at hand.”

For more information, please see:

The Guardian – Christians Should Pray for Prince George to be Gay, Says Minister – 30 November 2017

Time – U.K. Reverend Sparks Outrage After Telling Christians to Pray for Prince George, 4, to be Gay – 1 December 2017

BBC News – Gay Prayer for Prince George Remarks ‘Unkind and Destructive’ – 1 December 2017

Huffington Post – Minister Sparks Outrage After Asking People to Pray for Prince George to be Gay – 3 December 2017

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

ROME, Italy – The former archbishop of Boston who was instrumental in covering up child molestation by priests within the Catholic Church, died on Wednesday, December 20^th in Rome.

Cardinal Bernard Law was a spiritual leader in Boston, America’s fourth largest Catholic archdiocese, from 1984 until he resigned in 2002 amidst the scandal that rocked the Catholic Church.

In 2002, The Boston Globe ‘s Spotlight Investigative reporting team published a series of stories that implicated Law in a systematic cover-up of rampant sexual abuse of children by priests in the Boston diocese.

Upon learning of child molestations by priests, Law and his predecessors transferred the priests from parish to parish without notifying the victims’ parents or the police of the abuse. Cardinal Law never faced criminal charges.

When the allegations came to light in 2002, the Catholic Church in Boston faced hundreds of lawsuits. The Boston diocese went nearly bankrupt due to the scandal, and was forced to sell property to fund over 100 million dollars in settlements with over 500 victims.

More than 70 priests in the Boston area were found to have committed abuses. The investigation in Boston prompted nationwide investigations in American cities and throughout the world.

Survivors of the abuse were outraged at the Vatican’s decision to conduct a full cardinal’s funeral for Law despite his role in enabling the abuse.

After Law’s resignation from the archdiocese in Boston, he moved to Rome and served as archpriest of the Papal Liberian Basilica of St. Mary Major until he retired in 2011.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests urged the Church against celebrating Law’s life and asked it instead to focus on protecting children and helping survivors. The group asked, “Why was Law promoted when Boston’s Catholic children were sexually abused, ignored, and pushed aside time and time again?”

Many of the victims of abuse feel that the decision to honor Law is opening up wounds that have never healed.

Cardinal Law’s successor, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, apologized to victims of sex abuse by clergy and stated that there is a greater sensitivity to the situation in the church today.

“I think that it’s unfortunate that he’s had such a high-profile place in the life of the church, but I think going forward that kind of decision would not be made,” said Law’s successor, Cardinal Sean O’Malley. “But unfortunately, we’re living with the consequences of that.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Bernard Law: Disgraced US Cardinal Dies in Rome – 20 December 2017

CNN – ‘Chop Him Up:’ Accusers Seethe Over Vatican Funeral Plans for Cardinal Law – 20 December 2017

The New York Times – Cardinal Law and the U.S.-Rome Sex Abuse Divide – 20 December 2017

The Washington Post – Cardinal Law, Disgraced Figure in Church Scandal, Dead at 86 – 20 December 2017

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

CALAIS, France – Amidst continued criticism of his treatment of France’s migrant issue, French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to the port city Calais, a center of the country’s migrant problem, to defend his policies.

Before Macron was elected in May 2017, he campaigned as a supporter of migrants. At the time, his opponent was staunchly against allowing migrants into the country.

However, since his election, critics complain that Macron has betrayed his supporters by allowing continued expulsions of migrants and police crackdowns targeted at migrants.

The coastal city of Calais has become a symbol of France’s migrant problem. Upwards of 700 migrants are currently in the area, most hoping to make it to the United Kingdom by way of the English Channel.

Calais was once home to a migrant camp of 7,000 people that became known as the “Jungle.” The camp was dismantled in 2016.

During his visit, Macron outlined France’s stance toward immigration and asylum. He maintained that those entitled to be in France will be given shelter and support, while those who are in the country illegally will be expelled.

“To stay in Calais and build makeshift shelters and even set up squats is a dead end. The alternative is clear; people can get to the reception centers where everyone’s case will be examined and those who have the right, given asylum in our country,” Macron said in a speech while in Calais.

In his speech, Macron also called for French law enforcement officers to act with respect towards migrants. According to a Human Rights Watch Report published in the summer of 2017, French police “routinely use(d) pepper spray on child and adult migrants while they…[were]… sleeping or in other circumstances in which they pose(d) no threat.” Although Macron discredited some accounts, he maintained that if the alleged abuses did occur that they will be punished.

Macron has worked to establish checkpoints overseas in order to separate economic migrants from asylum seekers. Those who are seeking political asylum are given priority over those seeking entry into the country for economic reasons.

A new migrant policy is expected to be released next month. Plans will be unveiled to quicken the application process for those seeking asylum as well as expel those who are in the country illegally faster.

France received over 100,000 asylum applications in 2017. Approximately 85,000 migrants were refused entry into the country.

For more information, please see:

BBC News – France Will not Allow Another ‘Jungle’ Camp in Calais, Says Macron – 16 January 2018

The Guardian – France Will not Allow Another Refugee Camp in Calais, Says Macron – 16 January 2018

The New York Times – Macron Defends Migration Policy in France, Walking A Fine Line – 16 January 2018

The Washington Post – France’s Macron Pushes Back Against Angry Allies to Defend Crackdowns on Migrants – 16 January 2018