Sex between adults and teens is 'rife' in Italy
Sexual interaction between adults and teenagers under 18 is acceptable to 38 percent of Italians, a report released on Sunday by Save the Children has found.
Ahead of Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, which promotes a more responsible approach to online activity, the children’s charity found that the vast majority of Italians think adult-teen relationships are rife.
Eighty-one percent of Italians think that sexual interactions have spread online and the internet is the main way to develop relationships that can turn into physical encounters, Save the Children said. The age of consent in Italy is 14.
Interaction between the over-45s and children was common, with 28 percent telling the charity they had been in touch with teenagers online that they did not know personally. A tenth of these said the teen had instigated contact.
The acceptance of relationships between children and adults has also gained legitimacy in Italy’s courts. In December Italy’s highest court overturned the conviction of a 60-year-old social worker for having sex with an 11-year-old girl in his care, arguing that she was “in love” with him.
READ MORE: Paedophile let off because girl was 'in love'
A November survey found that 11,000 children in Italy are forced into prostitution, just weeks after a woman in Rome was arrested for prostituting her teenage daughter who was lured into sex work online.
READ MORE: 11,000 children forced into sex work in Italy
While a number of adults make contact with teenagers online, the sex trade is also prevalent among peers in Italy.
The “baby call girl” scandal last Autumn highlighted a number of cases of teenagers prostituting themselves in school. Rather than being isolated incidents, however, 14 percent of Italian teens said sex was sold to classmates and a quarter of those said they had paid for numerous sexual encounters with the girls.
READ MORE: Sex sold in 14 percent of Italian schools - survey
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Ahead of Safer Internet Day on Tuesday, which promotes a more responsible approach to online activity, the children’s charity found that the vast majority of Italians think adult-teen relationships are rife.
Eighty-one percent of Italians think that sexual interactions have spread online and the internet is the main way to develop relationships that can turn into physical encounters, Save the Children said. The age of consent in Italy is 14.
Interaction between the over-45s and children was common, with 28 percent telling the charity they had been in touch with teenagers online that they did not know personally. A tenth of these said the teen had instigated contact.
The acceptance of relationships between children and adults has also gained legitimacy in Italy’s courts. In December Italy’s highest court overturned the conviction of a 60-year-old social worker for having sex with an 11-year-old girl in his care, arguing that she was “in love” with him.
READ MORE: Paedophile let off because girl was 'in love'
A November survey found that 11,000 children in Italy are forced into prostitution, just weeks after a woman in Rome was arrested for prostituting her teenage daughter who was lured into sex work online.
READ MORE: 11,000 children forced into sex work in Italy
While a number of adults make contact with teenagers online, the sex trade is also prevalent among peers in Italy.
The “baby call girl” scandal last Autumn highlighted a number of cases of teenagers prostituting themselves in school. Rather than being isolated incidents, however, 14 percent of Italian teens said sex was sold to classmates and a quarter of those said they had paid for numerous sexual encounters with the girls.
READ MORE: Sex sold in 14 percent of Italian schools - survey
Don't miss a story about Italy - Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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