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Child pornography
Refers to material
depicting children being sexually abused, in a state
of undress, engaged in erotic poses or sexual
activity.Children are sexually abused in the
production of child pornography, particularly when
sexual acts are photographed, and the effects of the
abuse are compounded by the wide distribution of the
photographs of the abuse. Legal definitions of child
pornography generally refer to any pornography
involving a minor, varying by jurisdiction and with
regards to laws against Child pornogrpahy. For
research purposes, child pornography often refers to
any recording (photograph, video, or audio) of
sexual activity involving a prepubescent child.
According to the
United States organization The National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and other
international sources, child pornography is a
multi-billion dollar industry and among the fastest
growing criminal segments on the Internet. Recent
investigations include Operation Cathedral that
resulted in multi-national arrests and 7 convictions
as well as uncovering 750,000 images with 1,200
unique identifiable faces being distributed over the
web; Operation Amethyst which occurred in the
Republic of Ireland; Operation Auxin; Operation
Avalanche; Operation Ore based in the United
Kingdom; Operation Pin; Operation Predator; the 2004
Ukrainian child pornography raids and the 2008 US
child pornography raid. New technology that aids
those who produce this material include inexpensive
digital cameras and Internet distribution has made
it easier than ever before to produce and distribute
child pornography. The producers of child
pornography try to avoid prosecution by distributing
their material across national borders, though this
issue is increasingly being addressed with regular
arrests of suspects from a number of countries
occurring over the last few years, see above.
According to the NCMEC, approximately one fifth of
all Internet pornography is child pornography. Child
pornography is illegal in most countries with
coordinated enforcement by Interpol and policing
institutions of various governments, including among
others the United States Department of Justice.
Even so, the UK based NSPCC said that worldwide an
estimated 2% of websites still had not been removed
a year after being identified.
Child pornography may
be simulated by the use of computers or adults made
to look like children. For simulated child
pornography that is produced without the involvement
of children, there is some controversy regarding
whether or not such simulated child pornography is
abusive to children. The legal status of simulated
or "virtual" child pornography varies around the
world; for example, it is legal in the United
States, it is illegal in the European Union, and in
Australia its legal status is unclear and so far
untested in the courts. People have been
successfully prosecuted after describing acts of
abuse via SMS.
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