Child Pornography: Crime, Computers and Society

• NCJ Number: 222398
• Author(s): Ian O'Donnell; Claire Milner
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 270 pages
• Sale Source: Willan Publishing
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Overview Text
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This book reports on a study of contemporary child pornography, with attention to its enduring appeal, the harms it causes, the role of the Internet in its distribution, and the challenges it poses for criminal justice systems around the world.

Abstract

Part I contains three chapters that portray the context of child pornography, with a focus on its enduring appeal, the role of the Internet in changing the nature and use of child pornography, and why child pornography should concern societies throughout the world. The first chapter provides an overview of the history, persistence, and contemporary expansion of child pornography. A second chapter addresses the role of the Internet in facilitating child sexual exploitation and the expanded production, exposure to, and use of child pornography. The third chapter features a discussion of the harms caused by child pornography, notably its promotion of child sexual abuse that produces a range of adverse physical, emotional, and behavioral consequences for child victims. This chapter also profiles child pornographers and analyzes users' attraction to child pornography. Part II contains one chapter that presents a national case study of how Ireland's criminal justice system has responded to child pornography. This leads to a broader discussion of this issue in Part III, which analyzes the challenges and consequences of addressing child pornography through legislation, law enforcement, prosecution, and sentencing. The authors conclude that an overzealous effort to protect the sexual innocence of children and punish any person who may display a physical attraction to children cannot only contaminate the healthy and fulfilling intimacy between adults and children but also divert societies' resources and attention from the major threats to child safety and welfare, i.e., poverty, the breakdown of the socioeconomic foundation of families, and consequent social isolation of children. 150 references and a subject index