BellaOnline Forums News and Politics Missing & Exploited Children Should Child Pornography Be Illegal?

The point was made in another thread that a pedophile who is not "Actively touching other children" - i.e. who is just sitting home watching child porn on the internet - is not causing any harm to anybody and should be accepted.

This leads to the question - is child pornography harmless?

It is in fact illegal to have child pornography. So the courts have already decided the answer is YES.

There's of course a reason for this. Child pornography involves ... children. Somehow a child was put in front of that camera and made to do harmful acts. The person who is watching it is creating the audience for these children to be harmed. If nobody watched child porngoraphy, then nobody would make child pornography. It stands to reason.

So anybody who is sitting home looking at child pornography on the internet IS causing harm - just as anybody sitting home watching videos of women being raped against their will in "torture chambers" is causing harm. If there wasn't an audience for watching painful activities, then there wouldn't be an industry which deliberately set up these situations to be filmed.

It's one thing to watch a film with consenting adults acting in it. It's another thing to watch a film with people having things done to them without their consent - adult or otherwise.

I just want to say Pornography makes me sick to my stomach and I cannot tolerate how much of it is in the media and such. Yes child porn should be illegal. The media today is the worst ever in history. There is soo much controversy, it makes my skin crawl.

Definitely child porn should be illegal. I believe studies have shown that porn does incite violators to act on their fantasies. The sexual predator is an entirely separate class of psychological stew anyway, and pedophiles are definitely sexual predators. I believe that those looking are also most likely doing or will attempt to do so. Plus, just like a couple might watch porn for "ideas", so do predators. It's a training class.

Child sexual abuse is probably as old as mankind, and yet is more violent and rampant now. Blame this on whatever you will, but I believe making kiddie porn illegal is, if nothing else, a statement that as a society, we will not tolerate pedophilia.

There is an audience for dang near anything and just like a heroin dealer, there's always someone there to prey on the weakness of others. I think there is a connection between condoning or accepting deviant behaviors and the numbers who practice said behaviors. Not absolutely, but peer pressure and groupthink are powerful things.

Lisa,

Could not have said it better.

Just to be fair, I don't think child sexual abuse is more violent or rampant in modern times. It was considered quite normal in many cultures before ours, to treat kids as little sexual playthings. Kids were used, abused and thrown out. Look at Oliver, and all the societies that used kids as slaves. I thik we have some of the best child protection laws and the best "mentality" of caring for children that has existed.

I think part of it is people used to have tons of kids - and there used to be tons of loose kids underfoot from people who had died from disease and such - so people didn't really care as much about individual kids. In modern times we only have one or two, and there are huge waiting lines for adopting kids locally, so kids are much more precious to us. Also in general we have much more empathy. We no longer live in a society where slaves are being beaten, where wives are not allowed to vote and are considered home sex slaves, etc.

So I have a lot of pride in what we have achieved now and I think it's important we recognize we really have come a long way. We do still have issues to resolve but at least in modern time we know they are issues ...

you know common sense man child porn should not even exist I don't know what is going on in the minds of these sick [censored]-o's they make me sick their asses should be burned with acid someone should go and cut their dicks off cause they don't deserve to have one I just hope I don't pass one in the street cause I'll bind their dick and balls cut that [censored] off sew it back and and cut it off again I have two little children and thats how I really feel

Well i would add also cut there hands off so they cant touch kids or work a camra cut there feet off so they cant run after kids plus put hot coal in there eyes and sew it shut so they cant see any kids or work a camra!!! this would cut down on taxes because there would be no need to feed and house them!!! plus if you do all of this without anastic you dont have to pay for meds and any butter knife and lump of coal will do!!! and if that dont stop them from hurting kids well send them to God and let Him deal with them we tried to be kind so....

and I would also put in before someone brings up the wrongly accused that this should be fore the ones chought red handed and right on the spot no trial needed if there is more then 2 witness!!! or for the ones that are repeat offenders one time wrong place wrong time or framed the 2 you just proved you did it!!!!

I dont know about the rest of you but i am tired of footing the bill to prove room and board to people who hurt kids and or kills anyone then some high $$$ lawer comes in and gets them out or the state lets them off with a slap because the prison is "too CROWDED"!!!

I talked with a parent of one of my children's friends who felt that there was nothing wrong with "impure thoughts" of children (remember that dateline piece on the internet predators) and that it should only be a crime if there is actual sex involved.

While this isn't quite the same as child pornography because a child is involved in that - and therefore there is already some culpability on the adult's part -- I was very uneasy about HIS statement.

There is something VERY wrong with thinking or acting on the desire to sexually be with a child. Child pornography should clearly and definitely be illegal. I mean pot is illegal - but sexually explicit pictures of children isn't?

But of course that's another story:)

that brings up a good point though. drug users get big long prison sentice but you can sexual abuse kids and grown women for that matter and get out of prison in what 5-10 yrs or less with good behavore!!!! WHATS WRONG WITH THIS??? im not saying that drug dealers and users should go free but i would reather have a pothead be my nieghbor then to have a sex offender live in my area!!! but thats just me!!!

I think there are two issues here...

1. making child pornography

2. viewing child pornography

In any event, if a person under the age of consent is involved it should be illegal to make, view or posess.