child+pornography+-+effects

Many have argued that the distribution of obscene adult material is a victimless crime, that no one gets hurt and that what one does privately is his or her own business. In the case of child pornography, however, where a real child is videotaped or photographed, there is always a victim. The distribution of that depiction repeats the victimisation over and over again, long after the original misdeed took place. Likewise, when the face of a child is superimposed on a sexually explicit photo, even though that child never participated in any sexual act, the distribution of the altered image arguably produces a similar effect.

There are two ways in which children can potentially be harmed by child pornography--by being exposed to child pornography or by being filmed themselves. Children who are exposed to pornography are in danger of being desensitised and seduced into believing that pornographic activity is "normal" for children. The impact on the child victim who is exploited to produce pornography is often serious. Children can experience a myriad of symptoms including physical symptoms and illnesses, emotional withdrawal, anti-social behaviour, mood-swings, depression, fear and anxiety. In a study of children involved in sex rings, all of whom were sexually abused, 54.8% of the children were used in the creation of pornography. In these children, there was a significant relationship between involvement in pornography and a pattern of identification with the exploiter, along with deviant and symptomatic behaviour.

Children who are sexually abused or exploited may be at high risk of becoming perpetrators or abusers themselves. Note that there are those who reject the "cycle of abuse" theory because it is females who are more frequently sexually abused and yet males are responsible for the majority of child sexual abuse in most societies. The media in some countries often confuses victims with perpetrators by publishing pictures of children who have been sexually exploited and blanking out the faces of offenders. Those exploited children who enjoyed the attention or who were sexually stimulated carry special shame about their participation in pornography. It must be emphasised that whether minors acquiesced to sexual exploitation, profited from it, or enjoyed it, they are always the victims of an unlawful and often destructive act.