Legal Conceptions of Harm Related to Sexual Images Online in the United States and Canada
Child & Youth Services, 2015, DOI: 10.1080/0145935X.2015.1092837
24 Pages Posted: 10 Sep 2016 Last revised: 17 Jun 2018
Date Written: 2015
Abstract
This article examines the history of legal discussion of the harms of child pornography possession and viewing in the United States and Canada, with special attention to the evolving conception of direct harms to children and youth pictured in these images. The article further addresses ongoing uncertainty about harms associated with images that do not record an instance of sexual abuse, but where the harm arises solely from non-consensual distribution of nude and/or sexual images. Achieving greater understanding and recognition of both the similarities and differences between the harms that arise from the “permanent record of abuse” and from ongoing circulation and use of images beyond the subject’s control are necessary in order to equip both clinical and legal practitioners with the knowledge they need in order to provide appropriate support for victims of the varied forms of sexual abuse related to sexual image online.
Keywords: child pornography, child abuse, online, sexual images, harm
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