Why this story matters:
It has already been called the most abhorrent crime of the decade: a woman and her partner allowed pedophiles to shoot pornography with their seven-year-old son, who was made to abuse a neighbor's three-year-old daughter, for the sum of 9,000€.
This conviction comes days after a group of men were sent to prison for running a darknet child porn platform. And while many are happy to see those people caught and sentenced, it is unclear what needs to be done to prevent such crimes.
Not a year goes by in Europe without another story of gruesome child abuse. In the article below, the German news service Tagessschau collects thoughts on this question from different experts.
According to them, many things need to change -- not least the attitude towards female perpetrators. The couple from Staufen, who were convicted yesterday, were able to carry on for so long because nobody thought a mother could sell her own child like this.
Children should be given more information too, and have better access to rescue services. Additionally, people who work with children should be trained to recognize signs of abuse and report them. Finally, we should stop seeing the family as an untouchable sphere, and be ready to intervene when the circumstances require it.
Details from the story:
- A woman and her partner from southern Germany sold access to her seven-year-old son to pedophiles operating in the darknet over a period of three years.
- The woman's partner, Christian L., was already convicted of pedophilia before he started living with the woman.
- They were sentenced to 12 years in prison yesterday, but the main question remains: how could they get away with their crimes for so long?
