Council of Europe Praises Andorra Child Protection Progress, Urges Sexting Law Fixes

The Council of Europe's Lanzarote Committee has updated its evaluation of Andorra's efforts to protect children from online sexual exploitation and abuse, acknowledging progress while urging further legal and preventive measures.

In a March 2025 follow-up report, the committee noted advancements, including specialized police units, dedicated child prosecutors, trained judges on sexual violence cases, and active participation in Interpol's International Child Sexual Exploitation database. It highlighted victim support services such as the 24/7 toll-free helpline 175, offering confidential advice in Catalan, Spanish, and French, and the b-resol app by Andorra Telecom for anonymous reporting of cyberbullying or conflicts.

However, the report identified ongoing gaps in Andorra's legal framework. Current laws allow minors to face criminal liability for producing, possessing, distributing, or disseminating child sexual images, including self-generated content, even if shared consensually for private use between peers. While consent lacks legal validity in this context and juvenile proceedings emphasize education over punishment—with courts able to suspend cases for disciplinary measures—the committee recommends explicit exemptions to avoid prosecuting children in such scenarios.

Prevention efforts also require strengthening. The committee calls for expanded awareness campaigns on sexting risks—where minors voluntarily share sexual images or videos that may lead to blackmail or exploitation—targeting children before adolescence with age- and maturity-appropriate content, ideally co-developed with peers. It advocates better coordination across schools, social services, police, and courts for early detection, enhanced training for professionals, accessible materials for children with disabilities, and greater involvement from tech firms, media, and platforms.

Andorra's government outlined 2025 follow-up actions, including specialized training for judges and prosecutors on TIC-linked sexual offenses, reinforced school programs on internet risks, and tools for detecting such crimes. Recent initiatives encompass the "10 Tips to Enjoy Social Media Safely—or Almost" campaign, the interactive play Qui ha qui?, the workshop Això no és sexe for 14- and 15-year-olds on pornography dangers, and annual police sessions in schools.

Positive steps include the National Plan for Children and Adolescents, backed by the Council of Europe; ratification of the Lanzarote Convention in 2014; the UNITS project for early risk detection in schools; Barnahus-inspired victim care models; Andorra Telecom protections; and the Digital Wellbeing Action Plan for youth within national digitalization strategy.

This review is part of the committee's second evaluation round, emphasizing IT-related risks, particularly self-generated sexual content by children—a rising concern across Europe.