Child Pornography

Child Pornography

Introduction

Child pornography is not a new form of child exploitation, and it has long been implicated in other sexually abusive practices toward children. However, with each technological advance there has also been a further democratization of the availability of images and text that objectify and sexualize children. To describe these images, the term abusive images is now widely used by those who advocate for children's rights in relation to sexual abuse through photography; however, child pornography is consistently used in the majority of laws and policy documents internationally, and attempts to change terminology are thought by some to be both confusing and to not adequately capture the complex nature of the material.

Child Pornography Legality

In the United States today, there are laws that have children as young as 10 being arrested and charged with sex crimes for things as simple as touching each other inappropriately. Teenagers are arrested and charged for sexual offenses for sending nude photos of themselves to each other. Thousands of people are labeled as Sex Offenders who would never rape anyone or molest a child. How can America allow such broad, sweeping legislation to make criminals out of so many? Examining the history of child pornography laws and policing dilemmas with them, reveals that they are ineffective because they lose sight of what needs protecting.

The ICMEC (2006) believe that people may be interested in child pornography because they are “sexually indiscriminate” and do not care what form of pornography they obtain, they may be curious and explore their own sexuality, or in it for financial gain. All of these explanations are plausible and there may be no single answer.

Child pornography History

The history of child pornography laws since 1977 has been influenced by unproven or strait-out false claims. The belief in a massive child pornography business began in the United States, England, and Scandinavia in the late 1970s (Rossen & Schuijer, 1992). The Netherlands in 1984 openly sold child pornography in porn shops. News reports about child abuse were considered small incidents and exceedingly rare. The Vrij Nederland newspaper often held undisguised classified ads for child pornography. In July 1984, this all changed. The police raided many porn shops and confiscated “eight cubic meters of child pornography.” It was also reported that 50% of their business came from child pornography sales. Both of these figures were found to be inaccurate. An organization called Defense for Children International (DCI) recognized by the United Nations continued to spread information about this theme. They claimed an annual profit of five billion dollars from child pornography business. They sometimes stated that it was 10 billion. A study done in 1986 by the United States Senate Commission on child pornography and pedophilia found that, “The most generous estimates of the value of foreign child pornography entering the United States — according to known seizure figures — would probably not exceed $5 million” (Rossen & Schuijer, 1992).

The study of boy prostitution done by Robin Lloyd in 1976 influenced much of this ...