The issue of child sexual exploitation

Suezanne Packer | August 29, 2012

Recent claims made in the media by a high profile defendant that he looked at child pornography 'out of curiosity' seem an attempt to downplay the charges of accessing and possessing child exploitation material. Suezanne Packer discusses our reaction to child abuse.

My particular interest in the topic of child sexual exploitation stems from my extensive work, over the past 20 years or so, medically assessing children where there have been concerns about possible sexual abuse. As part of this work, I have also been required by the police to view many pornographic images involving children, in an attempt to gain some estimate of the most likely ages of the children involved.

Contemplating sexual abuse of children is abhorrent to adults of all cultures and backgrounds. It gives rise to even more anger than consideration of other forms of abuse of children. There is much that is abhorrent about involving children in sexual activity and it is not thought of as amusing or entertaining. The images of the children I have seen have shown them to be dissociated or compliant in their behaviours, and the overwhelming message conveyed is of coercion and control. I have never observed pleasure.

There is perhaps more debate over what constitutes sexual exploitation of children. By that I mean familiarising children with sexual aspects of modern life. I do not mean we should return to a previous age when children were kept in total ignorance of matters sexual, but children now inhabit real and virtual worlds where overt sexuality is an almost constant feature of life. They are increasingly included in many ways, mostly with a commercial basis – what to wear and do, how to party, what to look like and how to be popular.

There is little disagreement that persuading a young child to participate in sexual acts with an adult, or even with another child, is totally unacceptable. At an “every day level”, most people feel uncomfortable in the presence of a masturbating child, though many parents now are able helped to consider this behaviour dispassionately and work out how to respond in a calm way. Only in most persistent cases is the possibility of abuse considered. It is normal for children to have a healthy and legitimate interest in their own bodies, but in the course of this developmentally appropriate exploration, pain and injury do not happen. It is enjoyable.

So why do some adults actively seek to view child pornography? It is so far removed from observing satisfying, cheerful age appropriate play with children. The mental processes behind such a predilection must give rise to concern. It does not mean that such people would inevitably move on to abuse a child, but children have been abused in the making of the images, mostly in other countries.

I think it is also important to consider how you might feel if you discovered that your partner, or friend, or your child’s teacher, minder or doctor chose to watch such images. Most people would be distressed and would move to stop or curtail contact.

I believe it is fundamentally unacceptable for people in our society who care about children having full and positive lives to ignore such behaviour. I also believe that all such acts, even when classified as “trivial” are demeaning to children and their human rights.