Pedophilia is more normal than you think...
Before you lose your shit and start to condemn me for writing the above and the title, hear me out. The fact of the matter is, it is my opinion that we all have a knee jerk reaction to these words and that is in part... a portion of the pedophilia problem. And let me be clear, I do think pedophilia is a problem. As much as I think any compulsion is a problem for society as a while, as well as the person that suffers through it. However, the more I think about the issue and connect the dots, the more concerned I become.
You don't think that it is uncommon, do you? Think about this. Child porn is a multi-billion dollar industry that continues to grow. The sub-culture that fuels this is becoming more and more keen on the trends and create ways to promote child-loving in subversive ways through iconography and keyphrases. Millions are invested in the industry and many of us aren't even aware. Teen searches continue to be huge searches for pornhub across the states and many people don't even count teen as child porn. So there's that. It's enough to be overwhelmingly depressing.
What started out as a few simple thoughts about child pornography as a contributor towards human trafficking, the more I come to see that the cycle is as deep as it is vast, with very little that can be done immediately without drastic actions. Drastic actions, I don't think, will present as a solution... and so thus... this ends up as simply being rambling in hopes that someone else has a solution.
So, I turn to you and present a few facts that I have learned along the way. It is my goal and attempt to continue to be more vocal about the pervasive problems but I fear that it ends up sounding like doom and gloom. Perhaps I am missing something, so I will first present the simple facts.
Human trafficking is one of the biggest threats, currently in America and around the world, that contributes towards the loss of life and liberty to individuals of all ages.
Child trafficking, specifically is estimated to make up a third (at least) of all of the cases where humans are enslaved for sexual or labor exploitation (NRM 2016).
Child pornography has been directly linked with the identification of those at risk and those that have been subjected to trafficking.
Child pornography is rarely, if ever, tried in court as a trafficking issue and we are lacking in education and studies to have trafficking be enforced alongside pornography charges.
Rules about pornography need to be challenged and the industry needs to be regulated more in order to protect those that are at risk.
A study done by the NSPSS reported the following key studies in 2017:
Harming a child in any form is a disgrace in our society... most of the time?
The fight to save the children is a long and arduous one.
Back in 2011 AG Eric Holder Jr spoke to the National Strategy Conference on Combating Child Exploitation in San Jose, California, May 19, 2011. He raised his concerns then about the rising numbers in relation to child porn. As technology makes the material more accessible the interest continues to rise as well.
“Unfortunately, we´ve also seen a historic rise in the distribution of child pornography, in the number of images being shared >online, and in the level of violence associated with child exploitation and sexual abuse crimes. Tragically, the only place >we´ve seen a decrease is in the age of victims. This is – quite simply – unacceptable.”
Attorney General Eric Holder (National Strategy Conference on Combating Child Exploitation in San Jose, California, May 19, 2011.)
The numbers indicate that there are many children at risk. The problem is not only pervasive, it is obvious to those that choose to look. However, how many of us do?
The more I consider the connections of pornography, as it is sold and marketed today in America and abroad, the more i can't help but wonder why more people aren't upset... why they aren't willing to pitch in and do their part. Granted, I know that there are people on Steem doing their part, I have to question everyone as much as I do myself.
What Are We Doing Here?
I actually started writing on here as PrudishNudist because of my own issues with sexualization. In America, I hardly doubt that all of us don't have a little bit of an issue in this area. My personal story isn't really important at this juncture This is a huge topic and it is going to take a while to get around the entire thing.
So, to look a bit closer at the child pornography issue we are facing...
The good news is that child porn is not covered by by free speech... there are some definite holes in the laws as they are now.
Take a look at the following laws to get a deeper sense of what we currently can and cannot prosecute:
8818 U.S.C. § 2251-
Sexual Exploitation of Children (Production of child pornography)
18 U.S.C. § 2251A- Selling and Buying of Children
18 U.S.C. § 2252- Certain activities relating to material involving the sexual exploitation of minors
(Possession, distribution and receipt of child pornography)
18 U.S.C. § 2252A- certain activities relating to material constituting or containing child pornography
18 U.S.C. § 2256- Definitions
18 U.S.C. § 2260- Production of sexually explicit depictions of a minor for importation into the United States
The sad fact is that many of us complain, we say that it is wrong, we snub our noses and talk shit... and... and then we go and turn on our porn, share pictures of women (many of which are barely legal) and say that it has nothing to do with child pornography. The simple fact is that each of us could be doing something about it by sourcing the pornography that we do watch, provoking the conversation in our social circles and challenging those around us to actually do something. Instead, the leaders of the anti-porn movement continuously become jokes, mainly because they are almost exclusively religiously based and thus not taken seriously. This in turn, gives us all time to have in-fighting and bickering about where the problem lies and what the problem is, while the porn industry continues to make billions.
Is Porn Really the Problem?
As a whole, I would say no. Personally, I am not actually against porn. I do have a huge problem with how it is distributed and the lack of importance on it that is placed in our culture. While porn of some variety is basically everywhere... it isn't really regulated and it is almost common place. This is akin to people walking around with a gun, loose gun laws and absolutely no gun safety knowledge. Sadly though, unlike in the gun scenario, where a person using a gun and not knowing anything about it... they would likely hurt themselves. The victims of pornography's side effects are rarely the person that investing or otherwise participating. The sex worker may have consequences, but they may not as well. I have had some experience in this area as well, but my own opinions are short on the subject and I think will leave it here for now.
I realize that there are more victims than the children, but I thought it was a good place to start.
Now, I would like to hear from you. What do you think should or can be done about the issue?
References:
Statistics:
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/preventing-abuse/child-abuse-and-neglect/child-trafficking/child-trafficking-facts-statistics/
https://www.nspcc.org.uk/services-and-resources/research-and-resources/2017/how-safe-are-our-children-2017/
https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/child-pornography
HTAM Image Taken From:
HCTN_Child Porn PDF Ref: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fmGh1GGZaqsJ:https://publichealth.wustl.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/HTCN_ChildPorn.pdf+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Pornhub Provided it's own image.
Great post, pedophilia and child pornography are unfortunately a much bigger problem than many people realize. Due to its extreme taboo nature it's something that's rarely discussed except for knee-jerk reactions like "pedophiles should all be shot". İt's a touchy subject.
What I'm a bit unclear about though is what ethical porn practices you actually suggest to help diminish the problem?
With ethical sourced porn, then we know what we are looking at, who we are supporting when we do and we become accountable for the porn that is out there. Hell, even porn sans teen would cut down on some of the demand. That and ethical porn also requires conversation, which alone would also be a good start. I think, before we can do anything good with the topic there needs to be understanding, which comes back to the communication thing.
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STOPI agree wholeheartedly on this. Regulation is important, with allowance for production involving legal age consenting adults. Where is this line drawn? Most think of minors as under 18, but some states have special laws, that allow such things as a 19 year old having sex with a 16 year old. If such an act was filmed, does state or federal law take purview? Now, I am by no means playing Devil's advocate. Pedophilia is unacceptable. I am rambling out thoughts on how it would be regulated and what definitions would be used. To battle the opposition, one must be able to know how they would debate an issue. You and I have had similar conversations about regulation, not only involving pornography but also prostitution. Legalization with regulation of consenting age parties further allows us to pinpoint and target trafficking. So, perhaps, in conjunction with regulation of pornography, perhaps also a legalization and regulation of prostitution? That would allow law enforcement to forcus on trafficking targets, barring corruption in law enforcement and legislative departments (Which I believe is also part of the problem).
Yes, exactly. Unfortunately, I personally would like to live in a world without regulation. I would prefer people to not be douchebags and to be able to just be. But when you look at the numbers it is just disheartening. At the same time, making porn or prostitution illegal would fuel the need and send it back underground. That which works in the light, even the darker of ventures, is always going to be more accountable than that which is in the dark.
It's really all the bell curve concept. We can adjust what is an acceptable range, but "outliers" will always exist. I think the line should be drawn at the line of legally informed/educated consent. The outliers can then be dealt with by the law and activists. If we make all consensual porn legal, there will still be outliers willing to produce and buy outside of that. If we made all porn illegal (which is NOT a good idea, by the way), then the outlier range is much more broad, and those willing to produce outlying content will have more to profit from. Money over human well being is generally always the argument. Too many people are willing to overlook the destruction of a human if it puts money in their pocket.