NCJ Number
109927
Date Published
1987
Length
95 pages
Annotation
This study reviews Federal and State laws and court decisions pertinent to countering child pornography and child prostitution.
Abstract
The review of child pornography first profiles the consumer and the victim, discusses the relationship between child pornography and prostitution, and considers the U.S. Supreme Court decision in New York v. Ferber (1982), which legally distinguished child pornography from obscenity. After outlining Federal and State strategies for regulating child pornography, the study summarizes Federal and State court cases pertaining to child pornography. The discussion of legal protection for the child victim of pornography focuses on the international distribution of child pornography, child abuse reporting laws, the child victim as witness, law enforcement efforts, Federal and State regulatory protections, and the recommendations of the Attorney General's Commission on Pornography. The overview of child prostitution begins with an outline of the history of juvenile prostitution in America, followed by a current assessment of its scope, nature, and potential for rehabilitation. A discussion of legal practices to combat it encompasses international, Federal, and State laws. Directions for reform focus on targeting patrons, raising the age of protection, social service programs, and decriminalization. Charts depict laws pertinent to child pornography and child prostitution.