4.1 compile scientific
evidence, through longitudinal studies, of the effects of the over-sexualisation of
children, and particularly girls. This should include collecting
data in order to help define appropriate legislative and political
measures and carrying out a review of the existing international
literature on the over-sexualisation of children in order to better
understand the gravity of the phenomenon and the current state of
knowledge in the scientific community;
4.2 take legislative action to put limits on the inappropriate
sexualised depiction of children in the media and advertising sectors,
based on, among other references, the Council of Europe Convention
on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual
Abuse (CETS No. 201, “Lanzarote Convention”) and the guidelines
contained in Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2013)1 on
gender equality and media, while respecting the fundamental right
to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5);
4.3 adopt policies and measures that seek to inform, educate
and remind parents about the dangers that their children face in
an over-sexualised environment (as well as to raise awareness of
indicators of related distress or trauma), and equip parents to
educate their children on these very sensitive issues in a constructive
way;
4.4 adopt policies which develop sex- and relationship-education
programmes in a school context, and provide support for educational
staff responsible for giving such education, with the aim of informing children
about the realities of everyday pressure they face in the media,
at school and in other social contexts, and of protecting them from
any unwanted sexual attention;
4.5 provide specific training to professionals who are engaged
in educating and caring for children, enabling them to convey constructive
messages to children and open up trustful dialogue with them;
4.6 encourage media and advertising supervisory bodies to
ensure the safeguarding of human dignity, in particular the rights
of children; where such advisory bodies are not already in place, encourage
their creation; and ensure that accessible and effective complaints
mechanisms are in place;
4.7 encourage the media and advertising sectors to safeguard
the dignity and innocence of children in their productions, through
self-regulatory mechanisms, internal codes of conduct and other
voluntary action, and inform these sectors on the impact of overtly
sexual content on children;
4.8 promote and support public policies, agencies, strategies
and tools aimed at raising children’s and young people’s awareness
of over-sexualisation and at empowering them to resist such trends
by supporting approaches and structures (such as Safer Internet
Centres and helplines) and involve children in the conception of
tools and messages;
4.9 support the education children receive from their parents
at home by promoting programmes for children that highlight the
dangers of an over-sexualised society and that:
4.9.1 are provided at home and in
schools (primary and secondary), but also via social networks, in
an age-appropriate manner;
4.9.2 include information about respect for one’s own privacy
and respect for others;
4.9.3 empower children to develop critical attitudes towards
media content and increase children’s resilience to peer pressure,
thus reducing the harmful consequences of sexualised images.
