Child pornography

The Internet as an open and public network changed the communication structure of our society and introduced new forms of crime. The problem of child pornography increased over the last years and new solutions have to be found, in order to eliminate the threat opposed upon our children. Due to the internet the public and governmental institutions got aware of the increased number of people, who become attracted by child pornography online.

The internet showed increasingly children involved in pornography and the pedophile pictures get more and more demanded by a part of the online users. Children of all ages get forced to appear as actors in pornographic videos and on pictures. Babies as well as teenagers get raped, sexual abused and tortured online. According to statistics of the German Federal office of criminal investigation the number of preliminary proceeding against owners and consumers of child pornography increased from 2000 to 2006, from 1592 to 4545 preliminary proceedings. The increase dabbled in only one year from 2006 with 4545 to 2007, 8832 preliminary proceedings against owners and consumers of child pornography[1].

Accordingly only an increase in control can protect children from the abuse online. The control over the net and blocking of pornographic sites should be provided by governmental institutions. The blocking and control itself may not solve the problem but increase the awareness of society and raise a moral understanding against pedophile behavior. These public understanding and awareness could lead to a long term change. Pedophilia and the use of children in pornography is clearly a criminal act and should be sentenced by courts actively. The German government announced this week the cabinet decision to block the excess to sites, that includes child pornography and are planning on extending this law in the future, to prohibit adults the contact to children online entirely[2].

The Internet may have increased the excess to and publicity of pedophilia, like proven in the Statistic above; therefore it is now in the hands of the society and governments to fight this crime in public. It is possible that not the Internet skipped the scales towards an increased pedophile behavior of society. Who can prove that pedophilia did occur to a reduced amount in former times, it is possible that our society hold the same potential for pedophilia over the past years. Due to the internet, current cases can not remain secret anymore and have to be faced by society and governments. Only through the open use of the internet, pedophilia could be recognized as a serious public problem. Internet users and the police can be easily alerted to pornographic crimes. The police is able to receive much easier a wide overview over the current situation regarding pornographic crimes. The Internet and its public network can help to raise awareness and knowledge about the issue of child pornography and bring a long term change, when knowledge, moral understanding and laws become introduced in the right way by our governments.

[1] Bundeskriminalamt.(2008). Retrieved March 25, 2009 from http://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/2396/umfrage/ermittlungsverfahren-gegen-besitzer-kaeufer-von-kinderpornografie/#info

[2] ZDF. (28.03.2009). Retrieved March 25, 2009 from http://www.heute.de/ZDFheute/inhalt/22/0,3672,7540342,00.html