Sweden’s Queen Silvia was in Rio de Janiero this week for the World Congress III Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. An advocate for children’s rights, it was natural for the Swedish Queen to be one of the delegates at the Congress.
The original Congress took place in Stockholm in 1996. Since then, many studies – including the recent ‘UN Study on Violence Against Children’ – indicate that the sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is pervasive. These sources provide evidence of growing criminal activity related to the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, exploitation by tourists and travelers, the proliferation of child abuse imagery and internet-related crimes. The sexual exploitation of children and adolescents is fueled by national and international demand, which threatens children and adolescents of all ages, in every corner of the world.
Queen Silvia was accompanied by her daughter, Princess Madeleine to Rio. Although the princess was not an official at the Congress, she was there to lend her support to children’s rights. Previously, Madeleine had interned at the UN for its unit that fights the sexual exploitation of children.
Earlier this month, Queen Silvia called for Sweden to make it criminal to look at internet child pornography, as it is in Norway and Denmark.
Clearly, the royal mother and daughter team are – and will continue to be – a force in the fight to end the sexual abuse of children around the world.
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