Disclaimer: This article discusses child sexual abuse and exploitation, the terminology surrounding it, and other triggering topics. Viewer discretion is advised.
“Terms such as "kiddy porn" and "child porn" are also used by criminals and should not be legitimate language used by law enforcement, judiciary, the public or media.” says Interpol. “Child sexual exploitation is not a crime we take lightly. In fact, we want you to cringe when you hear the terms “child porn” or “kiddy porn”.”
“Pornography is a term primarily used to describe material depicting adults engaged in consensual sexual acts distributed for the purpose of sexual pleasure[…] Pornography implies consent, and a child cannot legally give consent.” Inhope.org explains. Pornography implying consent seems generally agreed upon in a legal sense, though terms like revenge porn and child porn have existed for a very long time. It may be time we take a closer look at our language, and what statements like those may be implying.
A child cannot legally give consent, and the act of creating and distributing child sexual abuse and exploitation material is deeply traumatizing. Any sexual interactions between an adult and a child is abhorrent. We should be treating these crimes with the respect they deserve, and using the correct terminology whenever possible. While it may be unlikely that the term “child porn” will be removed from our wider vocabulary, we can at least make an effort to stop trivializing these and related crimes. Moreover, terms like these have become so watered down by modern internet discourse that any Tom, Dick, or Jerry has been accused of it, often for entirely trivial reasons like anime character “shipping.”
Some on Reddit mention that the term CSAM sounds “too clinical,” and actually takes away from the shock and vileness of the act. Others mention that people would “not know what you are talking about,” though most would argue that “child sexual abuse material” is quite a straightforward and clear statement. Shocking terms like “child porn” may be better for sensational social media posts, but not for the survivors forced to have their abuse material referred to as “pornography.”
While Twitter (now X) may fight tooth and nail to keep their buzzwords, the rest of us can take the time to better understand how this shocking language is used to hurt others.
Please, when discussing the sexual abuse of children, refer to it as CSAM instead of “child porn.” And please, do not refer to drawings of anime character in this way; it belittles victims, and makes many feel as if the trauma inflicted upon them is being trivialized by comparing them to cartoon characters.
References
Appropriate terminology. INTERPOL. (n.d.).
Call it what it is. help us change legislation from child pornography to CSAM. Child Rescue Coalition. (2024, January 26). https://childrescuecoalition.org/educations/call-it-what-it-is-help-us-change-legislation-from-child-pornography-to-csam/#:~:text=The%20term%20’child%20pornography’%20implies,calls%20for%20rectification%20and%20justice.
What is Child sexual abuse material?. INHOPE. (n.d.).
Why language matters: Why we should never use “child pornography” and always say child sexual abuse material. NSPCC Learning. (2023, January 30).
The article does raise a good point that actual child abuse should not be described like entertainment. But there seems to be a glaring flaw in the inhope statement: Sexual entertainment is not limited to purely consentual themes. Inhope seems to be using an overly narrow interpretation of the word "porn" to mean only photographic sexual entertainment, but even there real-life actors can often present stories portraying noncensentual fantasies. The audience is well aware that they're just actors telling a story. I think the underlying point is that when an actual child is involved in a photographic portrayal, there's a manipulation involved that brings the situation outside of the realm of merely being a fantasy. And that's why it should…