VVD: erotic chat conversations with children should be banned

It should be made a punishable offense to send sexually explicit messages to minors, says ruling party VVD. Such conversations are the prelude to sexual abuse, fears VVD MP Foort van Oosten.

VVD MP Van Oosten say told De Volkskrant that it is not only ‘degrading’ for a minor to receive sexually tinted messages, but that such conversations can also be the prelude to actual sexual abuse. “And it is also just nasty. I think we should not tolerate this. It is actually a form of abuse,” said the MP for the newspaper.

Van Oosten therefore wants the legislation against sexual abuse to be adapted to modern times: according to him, this legislation dates from before the internet, while it would be much easier to approach children on the internet. It is already illegal to propose to a minor on the internet a meeting where abuse is the starting point. A member of parliament from D66 tells de Volkskrant that she thinks a ban goes too far. The same goes for the PvdA, which does want Minister Opstelten of Security and Justice to check whether the law ‘takes account of virtual reality’.