Case
An international call-girl ring headquartered in Paris, which charged up to $9,000 a
night for its young women, was uncovered in June after a 16-year-old aspiring model from
Sweden, was raped by a 70-year-old Lebanese banker aboard a luxury yacht in St. Tropez.
Annika Brumark, charged with pimping on a large scale is believed to have had an address
book including the names of 40 Scandinavian, French and British women. ("9-G-A-Night
Call Girls Rocking Paris," New York Post, 24 September 1997)
Policy and Law
The number of prosecutions brought against pimps was almost halved in 7 years, from
1,300 in 1988 to 650 in 1995. (Marie-Victoire Louis, "Legalizing Pimping, Dutch
Style" Le Monde Diplomatique, 8 March 1997)
According to French law, travelling which leads to sexual assaults against children in
other countries tends to fall under the classification of "derelicts," a less
serious crime, unless coercion or force can be proved, which requires proof of ''payment
of remuneration" to the child by the alleged wrongdoer. This sets a very high
standard of proof and neglects other situations where they maybe an exchange or other
"in-kind" payment, rather than cash. ("Child sexploitation within the
law’s reach," The Nation, 2 July 1997)
Case
Seven French men were convicted in Draguignan under a new French law for child sex
tourism in Romania. They were sentenced to 5-15 years. (BBC, "French court
jails men for sex tourism under new law," 29 October 1997)
Public Response
Officials at the World Tourism Fair taking place in France said leaflets warning
against sex tourism were handed out in airports in Belgium, France, Germany and the
Netherlands in July 1998. ("Campaign against sex tourism launched at Paris travel
trade fair," Agence France Presse, 26 March 1998)
Cases
Two men were convicted in September 1997 of supplying pedophile videos to a nationwide
network of clients. The man who shot the films in Colombia received a three-year sentence
while the distributor of the films was jailed for two-and-a-half years. (BBC, 8
Nov 1997)
Nearly 70 people were fined or given suspended jail terms for possessing pedophile
videos. Five men killed themselves after the highly publicized investigation. (BBC,
8 Nov 1997)
Policy and Law
As of July 1997, possession of child pornography is not a crime. ("Child
sexploitation within the law's reach." The Nation, 02 Jul 1997)
Official Action and Response
The French government commissioned five pornographic films to promote condom use. Each
five-to-eight-minute film dealt with a different scenario: sex between a man and one
woman, a man and two successive women, and mild sado-masochism. ("France Uses Porn to
Promote Condoms," Associated Press, 19 March 1998)