Child pornography

    Are you suprised to see this topic? I guess not, we see a lot of things on the internet. Anyways, I'll like you to read this article with rapt attention and then pass it on to others so they can know what child pornography entails. Thanks in advance.

What is Child pornography? Child pornography is pornography that exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a child or it may be simulated child pornography. 

    Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor (persons less than 18 years old). Images of child pornography are also referred to as child sexual abuse images. Federal law prohibits the production, distribution, importation, reception, or possession of any image of child pornography. A violation of Federal child pornography laws is a serious crime, and convicted offenders face fines, severe statutory penalties. 

Over time there has been talks, walks, laws, NGOs against sexual abuse and child molestation. All of these has not stopped this terrible act but has served as a check to the sexual offenders, incited courage in the minds of the abused so they can speak up and as well empower the victims of sexual abuse. Child pornography doesn’t seem to me an issue that is well discussed in Nigeria, victims of sexual abuse and child molestation might not be victims of child pornography but the truth is there are countless children every year that face this horror. The production of child pornography creates a permanent record of a child’s sexual abuse. When these images or videos are placed on the internet and disseminated online, the victimization of the children continues in perpetuity. Experts and victims agree that victims depicted in child pornography often suffer a lifetime of re-victimization by knowing the images of their sexual abuse are on the internet forever. The children exploited in these images must live with the permanency, longevity, and circulation of such a record of their sexual victimization. This often creates lasting psychological damage to the child, including disruptions in sexual development, self-image, and developing trusting relationships with others in the future.

There are several possible reasons for a person to look at child pornography. The most common is that the viewer is a pedophile, hebephile, or ephebophile who finds minors sexually attractive and uses pornography featuring minors to induce arousal. Viewers may be curious about the subject or a person who plans to commit statutory rape may plan to show the pornography to a minor as a form of grooming to convince the minor that minors having sex with adults is normal. Mexico is the largest distributor of child pornography in the world.

     The expansion of the internet and advanced digital technology lies parallel to the explosion of the child pornography market. Child pornography images are readily available through virtually every internet technology, including social networking websites, file-sharing sites, photo-sharing sites, gaming devices and even mobile apps. Child pornography offenders can also connect on internet forums and networks to share their interests, desires, and experiences abusing children, in addition to selling, sharing and trading images. 

   These online communities have promoted communication and collaboration between child pornography offenders, thereby fostering a larger relationship premised on a shared sexual interest in children. This has the effect of eroding the shame that typically would accompany this behaviour, as well as desensitizing those involved to the physical and psychological damage caused to the victims. For this reason, online communities attract and encourage new individuals to join them in the sexual exploitation of children .

     The methods many offenders use to evade law enforcement detection have also become increasingly sophisticated. Purveyors of child pornography continue to use various encryption techniques and anonymous networks on the "Dark Web", attempting to hide their amassed collections of illicit child abuse images. Several sophisticated online criminal organisations have even written security manuals to ensure that their members follow preferred security protocols and encryption techniques in an attempt to evade law enforcement and facilitate the sexual abuse of children. 

  Unfortunately,  no area or country in the world is immune from individuals who seek to sexually exploit children through child pornography. The continuous production and distribution of child pornography increases the demand for new and more egregious images, perpetuating the continued molestation of child victims, as well as the abuse of new children. 

     Impact on the Victims

Immediate effect

-Physical injury and pain, including sexually transmitted diseases. 

-Somatic responses (headache, Stomach aches etc)

-Feelings of shame, unworthiness, anger and confusion .

-Withdrawal and isolation. 

-Anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress Disorder (PTSD), including night-mares, flashbacks etc.

Long-term effects

-Depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental illness.

-Feelings of worthlessness & low self-esteem 

-Distorted and unhealthy sexuality.

-Difficulty establishing healthy relationships. 

-Risky behaviours, including substance abuse, promiscuity, self-mutilation, and suicidal ideation and attempts.

-Greater risk of getting ensnared in commercial sexual exploitation. 

-Ongoing humiliation and lack of privacy: Victims are unable to escape the reach of the images, and constantly live with the knowledge that any person they meet could have viewed the images.

-Images remaining online could impact employment, relationships, and other facets of life throughout the lifetime. 

Other Negative Effects of the Existence of Child Pornography 

-Fuels the demand for Child pornography: “It seems to me that we’re in this brave new world, where not only was there an actual rape, but I’m going suggest to you there is a continuing digitized rape. Possession of the digitized recording of the rape contributes to the system, contributes to the economic benefit of those who produced this thing.”- Judge Emilio Garza 

-Existing child pornography may be used to desensitize children and normalize sexual activity in an effort by offenders to engage in sexual abuse or create new child pornography.

-Child pornography can be the gateway to hands-on-child sexual abuse, or may be used by sex offenders to reduce their inhibitions and prepare themselves to offend.

-The existence of child pornography may normalize and increase behaviours by minors such as sexting and other risky sexual behaviours. 

-Contributes to the hyper-sexualization of children: Minors internalize these cultural messages, leading to feelings of objectification, fuelling negative gender stereotypes and increasing vulnerability to sexual victimization and sexual risk-taking. 

Things that can be done to curb Child Pornography 

■Prevention: This would include evidence-based education programs comprehensively delivered to children, parents, educators, service providers and the public. Not just once in a while, but a concerted effort to reduce the rate of child pornography. Every Nigerian parent should know there is something like child pornography and as well talk to their kids about it so they don’t become victims.

■Treatment: We need to acknowledge the harm caused to victims and offer support to them and their families. The challenges they face as they learn to cope with the existence of permanent digital sexual images and their possible future consequences need to be supported by trained professionals who understand. 

■Enforcement: Law enforcement organisations need support and resources to manage the frontline reporting, investigation, and prosecution of sexual offenders. All levels of the judiciary process, especially those that include predominantly pre-internet generations (judges, senior management and policy developers) must be able to understand the complexity of these situations in order to adjudicate them properly, as well as be provided with the resources to adequately investigate these increasingly common occurrences. 

■Harm Reduction: Addressing the psychological, social and emotional harm to victims is going to require creative thinking. I believe that everyone has a role to play in minimizing the cases of child pornography; parents, educators, technology industry and social media providers. I believe that we will eventually find ways to prevent children from sexual abuse and exploitation whether digitized or not. We will create elements that will minimize the potential harm they experience but in order to come to these solutions we will need to involve the architects of these environments in the conversation about solutions. 

References 

▪︎Foothills Child Advocacy Center    www.foothilscac.org

▪︎The United States Department of Justice    www.justice.gov

▪︎Simple English Wikipedia   www.simple.m.wikipedia.org