Is it illegal to have sexual thoughts about children/minors?
Having sexual feelings and thoughts about children isn’t illegal. You never chose to have the thoughts you have. Therefore, having sexual thoughts about children doesn’t make you a bad or dangerous person.
However, choosing to act out on your sexual thoughts about children can become illegal. For example, if you involve a child in a sexual situation. This applies to online as well as real life situations.
Here are some esamples:
- You expose yourself to a child or get a child to expose him or herself
- You touch a child sexually or make a child touch you sexually
- You deliberately look at a child with sexual motives
- You have a sexualizing conversation with a child
- You share child sexual abuse material ('child pornography')
In Denmark, all sexual activity with children under age 15 is illegal—both online and. This means that if you are over 15, you aren’t allowed to have sexual intercourse with children under 15. It also means that you must not touch the genitals of children under age 15, make them touch your genitals, or make them look when you touch yourself.
It’s also illegal to view and share abuse material featuring persons under age (so-called ‘child porn’). In other words, it’s illegal to watch or share pictures and movies showing children in sexual activities, in sexualized poses, or focusing on the child’s genitals.
It’s illegal, because:
- The children and young people featured in these films are exposed to sexual crimes when pictures or videos are taken.
- Every time pictures or videos of the child or young person are shared or viewed online, it’s a new act of abuse.
- Watching these kinds of videos or pictures online creates more demand and can lead to more children and young people being sexually abused in the making of new movies.