Despite a new law designed to tackle grooming of young people by suspected paedophiles on internet websites, police are unable to act against those hosting chat forums, contact sites and advice pages.
"The so-called grooming law which came into force last July forbids sexually motivated contact with children over the internet. But the adult has to take some sort of initiative in that contact for it to be an offence - to arrange a date, buy a train ticket or such like," said Jonas Persson of the Swedish police to The Local on Friday.
In the six months after the law was adopted the police received only 100 reports, despite the fact that more than half of Swedish girls aged 15 to17 claimed to have been subject to grooming attempts by adults over the internet before reaching the age of 15, according to a National Council for Crime Prevention (Brottsförebygganderådet - Brå) report from 2007.
The law does not allow for the closure of websites or the prosecution of those behind them. Jonas Persson explained why:
"I don't think a tightening of the legislation is desirable - it would come dangerously close to encroaching on freedom of expression legislation," he said. (more...)
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