Child Pornography

What is Child Pornography?

Child pornography is broadly defined as the visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a minor child. Child pornography can appear in a variety of visual media forms, such as photography film, pictures, magazines, videotapes, movie films, compact discs, zip disks, read-only memory (CDROM), and digital video technology (DVD). Child pornography can be transmitted through hand-to-hand contact, mail, computer bulletin board systems, USENET newsgroups, Internet Relay Chat channels, electronic mail, Internet clubs, and a surfeit of frequently changing Web sites.

The precise definition of child pornography remains unclear, and lawmakers have had to depend on subjective community standards when developing policies banning such materials. Federal laws prohibiting child pornography expanded the definitions of child pornography in the past decade to protect both male and female children under 18 years of age. The requirement that pornography must be manufactured for commercial distribution to be prohibited by law was removed. It is now illegal to produce, distribute, advertise, or knowingly possess even one piece of child pornography. All 50 states have their own statutes prohibiting child pornography, and the definitions and penalties vary by state. There are also many international laws prohibiting child pornography, and these vary greatly by country.

New technological advances have made it possible to create visual depictions that appear to be minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct that are virtually indistinguishable from actual photographs of real children. The Child Pornography Prevention Act of 1996 tried to include these images in the definition of child pornography, but the Supreme Court struck down the legislation and found this to be a violation of the First Amendment. In the United States, virtual child pornography must be determined to be obscene under the same standards as other forms of pornography in order to be regulated.

Who is Involved in Child Pornography?

Some collectors molest children and keep the pornography to create a permanent record for arousal and gratification. Others use pornography to lower children's inhibitions, validate and confirm the child sex offender's belief systems, blackmail victims, and/or sell it for profit or trade. However, not all collectors of child pornography molest children, and not all children pictured in child pornography have been sexually abused. Some collectors never molest children but use the pornography for sexual arousal. Other collectors are actively involved in sharing, trading, and selling pornography, whereas others have no involvement with the child pornography underground.

The majority of child pornography is believed to be homemade. It is produced at home and distributed by trading or selling it in the underground market. Commercial child pornography consists of professionally produced and printed depictions with paid models and production staff. Commercial producers rely greatly on the homemade child pornographers for new material, and many homemade images become public through commercial producers. The main difference is the intention to profit.

The children involved in pornography fall into three broad categories:

• Older children who are already involved in prostitution and become involved in commercial pornography or are photographed or filmed by their customers
• Younger children, usually prepubescent, who are coerced or manipulated into posing for pornographic videotapes or photographs, often in conjunction with actual molestation
• Children of any age who are molested by acquaintances or family members and are photographed or videotaped

The children depicted in pornography can suffer from physical and psychological trauma. They face a potential lifetime of revictimization because of the continued use and distribution of videos, pictures, or computer images. Children need appropriate follow-up care and counseling for their symptoms, including guilt, shame, embarrassment, and inappropriate sexual responses.

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