Child Pornography Essay, Research Paper
Pornography is a picture, film, or writing that deliberately stimulates sexual arousal. Child abuse is the maltreatment of a child. Pornography and child abuse are two of the most terrible and disturbing social problems that our society is facing today. Unfortunately, these two problems are also amongst the most challenging. I believe pornography to be a sin within itself, but when an innocent child is brought into this dark, demeaning word of perverts and pedophiles, the sin grows to a whole different extreme. Child pornography has been defined under federal statue as a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit misconduct. The crimes associated with child pornography are unthinkable.
Child pornography is produced, collected, and used by pedophiles mainly for their own sexual arousal and gratification. Photographs, videotapes, films, and magazines of children in sexual poses and sexual acts make up the world of child pornography. The children used for these purposes can range in age from a few months up to eighteen years old. Child pornographers and pedophiles come from all different walks life. Many of them have occupations that bring them into frequent contact with children. Often these people hold respected positions with their community and have kept their interest in child pornography a secret.
Studies have shown a four-step addiction pattern that may lead up to the more distorted and extreme areas of pornography. First, an addiction to soft-core material is developed, then, the needs escalate and to become aroused, the addict needs
harder material to. The content needed to achieve the same level of arousal escalates to more dangerous acts such as bondage, rape, sadomasochism, torture, group sex and violence. In step three, the addict becomes desensitized to these images, and finally, the last step in the addiction pattern is acting out. For an addict of pornography, fantasy may no longer satisfy them. They begin to actually act out their heinous fantasies on people, a lot of the time victimizing childre
One of the most important things in a pedophiles life is his collection of pornography. To add to their collection, a pedophile will use the collection to lure other children into sexual activities by showing them porn and making the child think that its acceptable to take part in these acts. This makes it easier for a pedophile to molest a child.
The effect that child pornography has on the victimized children are devastating. The depicted children are placed in harmful situations including the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, rape, assault, and both physical and mental torture. The pornography obtained at the child s expense causes a sense of shame, guilt, and fear. The fear usually prevents the child from telling somebody or asking for help. Chances are that these children who are harmed will never be able to lead a normal life. Their self esteem and self worth may be completely robbed, causing them to act out and become a burden on society themselves. A lot of abused children will become abusers, first at force, but it will eventually become a way of life just as it was for their abuser.
A solution to end child pornography has not yet been reached, but changes have been made in the way that it s handled. There are strict laws against both producing and obtaining child pornography. Hopefully this is serving as a powerful deterrent, but nevertheless, the crimes have not stopped. Something needs to be done about the morals and values in this country. Until then, the law can only get a handle on a small amount of sex crimes committed against children. I also think that from a very young age, children should be intensively educated by schools about how to ask for help, who they should ask depending on who the abuser is, and what is and isn t appropriate. I definitely think that child pornography is one of the most horrible social problems we are facing, and realistically, it will probably never be completely eliminated, but society as a whole needs to realize the severity of these crimes and work together to get a handle on problems like this.
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