Child Pornography

Context             

Recently, EU lawmakers have approved rules requiring Alphabet's Google and Meta to remove Online Child Pornography, ensuring end-to-end encryption remains unaffected.

What is Child Pornography?

1. About:

1. Child pornography refers to the production, distribution, or possession of sexually explicit material involving minors. Sexual exploitation and abuse of children is a severe crime in India and globally, causing severe implications.
2. Online child pornography is a form of digital exploitation, involving the production, distribution, or possession of sexually explicit material involving minors on digital platforms.
3. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019 defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, including photographs, videos, and computer-generated images.

2. Indian Scenario: The National Crime Report Bureau (NCRB) reported a significant increase in child pornography cases in India, from 738 in 2020 to 969 in 2021.
3. Impact:

1. Psychological Impact: Porn has a significant psychological impact on children, leading to issues such as depression, anger, and anxiety. It can lead to mental distress. The impact of this issue extends to children's daily functioning, biological clock, work, and social relationships.
2. Impact on Sexuality: Regular exposure to sexual content can lead to feelings of sexual gratification and obsession, influencing individuals to engage in similar behaviors in real life.
3. Sexual Addiction: Experts claim that pornography resembles an addiction, causing similar brain effects as regular drug or alcohol consumption.
4. Behavioural Impact: Adolescent pornography usage is linked to heightened beliefs in gender stereotypes, particularly among males. Male adolescents who frequently watch pornography are more likely to perceive women as sex objects. Pornography may strengthen attitudes supportive of sexual violence and violence against women.

Challenges to Deal with Pornography

1. The impact of pornography varies among children of different social classes, making a single approach ineffective in effectively addressing the issue.
2. In India, sex is often viewed negatively, leading to a lack of healthy family dialogue and exposure to external influences, potentially resulting in an addiction to pornography.
3. Agencies face significant challenges in detecting and effectively monitoring child pornography activities.
4. Obscene content on websites and OTT services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Hotstar makes it challenging to distinguish non-vulgar content from vulgar content.

Way Forward

1. Child porn and pornography involving sexual violence should be immediately banned, while other forms of pornography require regulation.
2. The government should explore technological solutions to prevent accidental exposure of children to pornography, as most exposure occurs through internet advertisements.
3. Schools should mandate awareness and sex education, ensuring parents and teachers are equipped to handle modern children and technology effectively.

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