The very definition of child pornography is difficult in a legal sense. Material that classifies as child pornography is subjective to many variables that are to be considered including what defines a “child”, the mode of material, and the way in which the material is used (Gillespie, 2010). The article Legal Definition of Child Pornography by Alisdair Gillespie discusses how difficult it is in this day and age to put parameters around a concise definition of child pornography. We live in a world that is technologically advanced, which makes it difficult to devise an exact explanation of child pornography because of the abilities to manipulate and create materials that may or may not actually depict a “real” child. Child pornography laws are a recent concept created out of the obscenity law of the 1970’s. However, these laws may need to be redefined in order to apply to our world today.
Child pornography may be difficult to identify. In the 1960’s, Supreme Court Justice Stewart coined the phrase “I know it when I see it”, a legal phrase which is actually still used today. Although, this statement was in reference to obscene material in an adult pornography case, Jacobeellis v. Ohio, Justice Stewart explained that not all issues can be definitively defined, but there are some issues that do not require a specific definition in order to know what actions the law should be taking (Gillespie, 2010). The Internet poses great challenges to the law because of global involvement. Communication and distribution across boarders has made it impossible for a consistent definition of child pornography, which creates a weak foundation in combating this heinous crime. Gillespie addresses identifying factors that define what child pornography i...
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...oses? This is the difficulty for law enforcement and as such, some offenders may fall through the cracks of justice.
Gillespie has presented a very interesting analysis on defining child pornography. The article appears strong and I believe he has raised fervent arguments about the complexity of putting parameters around the definition of child pornography. He discussed three important variables in identifying child pornography and the problems that are associated with them. I did not find this article to exhibit any points of weakness, possibly because most of the evidence presented was insightful. Gillespie’s article helped me to acknowledge the tremendous difficulty law enforcement personnel have when it comes to defining child pornography. There is a fine line between what is legal and what it not and the complexities of this issue will continue in the future.
In her essay “Let’s Put Pornography Back in the Closet,” Susan Brownmiller, a prominent feminist activist, argues that pornography should not be protected under the First Amendment (59). Her position is based on the belief that pornography is degrading and abusive towards women (Brownmiller 59). She introduces the reader to the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and explains how it relates to her beliefs on censoring pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). In addition, she provides examples of First Amendment controversies such as Miller v. California and James Joyce’s Ulysses to explain how the law created a system to define pornographic material (Brownmiller 58). She described the system that used a three-part test as confusing (Brownmiller 58). Regardless of whether or not the First Amendment was intended to protect obscenities, she and many others believe that the legislatures should have the final say in the decision of creating and publishing pornography (Brownmiller 60).
Bibliography: Justice.gov. (2014). USDOJ: CRM: Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/citizensguide/citizensguide_obscenity.html [Accessed: 7 Apr 2014].
Pornography Under The Federal Sentencing Guidelines In The United States. Law & Contemporary Problems, 76(1), 27-52.
Ashcroft vs. ACLU, 00-1293, deals with a challenge to the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which Congress passed in 1998. The law, which is the subject of this essay, attempts to protect minors from exposure to Internet pornography by requiring that commercial adult websites containing "indecent" material that is "harmful to minors" use age-verification mechanisms such as credit cards or adult identification numbers.(Child)
27 Baird, Robert M. and Stuart E Rosenbaum. Pornography - Private Right or Public Menace Pg. 52
Child pornography is a form of child sexual exploitation. Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexual explicit could use images of child pornography are also referred to as child sexual abuse images.
In today’s American society, almost everyone, even children as young as six, owns a cell phone with a camera. Although convenient, camera phones also open the door to massive problems concerning child pornography that stem from sexting, or sending nude or lascivious photos. According to a 2010 Federal Bureau of Investigation survey1 of 4,400 middle and high school students, “approximately eight percent of students reported that they had sent a sext of themselves to others while thirteen percent said they had received a sext.” The main problem with sexting, aside from being child pornography if it is a picture of minor, is the ease of dissemination of the sext to other contacts or even the Internet. The United States alone has seen several students commit suicide after a sext intended for one person’s eyes goes viral or is sent to the entire high school. Such was the case of Ohio high school student, Jesse Logan, who sent nude photos to her boyfriend who then sent them to other students who harassed her until she committed suicide.2
In order to understand how sex trafficking affects its victims, one must first know the severity of sex trafficking and what it is. The issue of sex trafficking affects 2.5 million people at any given time (Abas et al., 2013). The form of sex slavery affects many women and children across the world. Even though both males and females are sexually trafficked and exploited, there is a deep emphasis on the sexual exploitation of women and children. This is due to gender discrimination (Miller, 2006). This is because women and children are more vulnerable and appeal to the larger populations of brothels and the so-called “clients” since the majority are men. Ecclestone (2013) stated that children as young as age three are trafficked. Sex trafficking has changed over time; “Today, the business of human sex trafficking is much more organized and violent. These women and young girls are sold to traffickers, locked up in rooms or brothels for weeks or months, drugged, terrorized, and raped repeatedly” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). It is found that many of the victims of sex trafficking are abducted, recruited, transported and forced into involuntary “sex work”. These sexual acts include prostitution, exotic dancing, pornography, and sexual escort services (McClain & Garrity, 2011). What happens to these sex trafficking victims is extremely traumatizing.
On to the question at hand, the Child Pornography Act (CPPA) of 1996 was written to protect children from sexual exploitatio...
When deliberating over whether access to pornography should be prohibited, four areas of contention must be elaborated upon and evaluated critically to provide a sensible basis on which a judgement can be made. Firstly, it must be concluded whether pornography can be classed as a form of speech, and whether it enjoys the same protections as art and literature under the principle. Secondly, works such as those of Catherine MacKinnon can be drawn upon to offer a feminist perspective of the effects of pornography on the treatment of women within modern democratic society. Moreover, the principles of Devlin and Feinberg offer relevant acumen regarding the criminalisation of pornographic media. Overall, this essay will argue that whilst access to pornography should not be entirely prohibited; publications that depict ‘extreme’ situations should be subject to regulation and restriction.
Sex trafficking is a form of contemporary slavery that induces and forces people into a commercial sex trade against their will. Many factors contribute to the sex trade and the exploitation occurs mostly to women and children. Through the age, gender, class, and race many are trapped in a never-ending cycle of coercion and abuse in order to survive in the corrupt society around them.
Pornography has been the leading player in exhibiting sexual behavior to those who care for such things. In fact, Pornography has become an $8 billion a year industry. However, like every industry, ethical and moral questions and situations come up. Although there are many in dealing with pornography, we will explore the area of Child Pornography.
To understand how to prevent child sexual abuse, one must begin by understanding what child sex abuse is. When a perpetrator intentionally harms a child physically, psychologically, sexually, or by acts of neglect, this crime is known as child abuse. Child sex abuse consists of any sexual activity that includes a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity. More importantly, when a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years. Moreover, child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and child, some forms include but not limited to; fondling, intercourse, sex trafficking, exposing oneself to a minor, masturbation
In recent years, pornography has established itself as perhaps the most controversial topic arising out of the use of the Internet. The easy availability of this type of sexually explicit material has caused a panic among government officials, family groups, religious groups and law enforcement bodies and this panic has been perpetuated in the media.
To some, pornography is nothing more than a few pictures of scantily clad Women in seductive poses. But pornography has become much more than just Photographs of nude women. Computer technology is providing child molesters and child pornographers with powerful new tools for victimizing children. Pornography as "the sexually explicit depiction of persons, in words or images, Sexual arousal on the part of the consumer of such materials. No one can prove those films with graphic sex or violence has a harmful effect on viewers. But there seems to be little doubt that films do have some effect on society and that all of us live with such effects.