Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I report Child Pornography?
A child was abused to produce the image. If you report child pornography it assists law
enforcement agencies around the world in their fi ght against the pornographer and
their efforts to rescue and protect the children involved.
Read Masha’s story below.
For a child condemned to live in stark state-run orphanage the chance to live in a
loving and caring family through international adoption is a dream come true. Sadly for
Masha – a Russian orphan, this dream was cruelly betrayed.
No one could have dreamt what her adoptive American father had in store for her. The
man who plucked her from the orphanage and promised her love and affection would
abuse her, rape her and trade pornographic images of her on the internet until she
was the most recognisable face in the global child pornography industry.
Masha was rescued by North American law enforcement agencies and re-adopted
by a genuinely loving parent. Early in May she told her story to a US Congressional
Committee to highlight the issues of child pornography and penalties in US law.
Congress recently passed tough new legislation that increases the penalties for
possessing and making child pornography and enables victims to seek compensation.
Source: ECPAT Newsletter Nov 2006
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Do People Who View Child Pornography Physically Sexually Abuse Children too?
Hernandez (2000) investigated 62 online offenders. Although none had any prior
convictions forHernandez (2000) investigated 62 online offenders. Although none had any prior
convictions for offline child abuse, during treatment 75 per cent disclosed that
they had actually abused a child in the past. Startlingly, the average number of
victims per offender was 30. A New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs study
(2004) found that 10 per cent of 185 child sexual abuse image cases had prior
convictions for offline child sexual abuse. These research findings suggest that
there is at least a correlative relationship between accessing images online and
sexually abusing children in the physical world.
John McCarthy and Nathan Gaunt of SAFE (www.safenetwork.co.nz ) report evidence
that supports this link through research arising from their adult
cyber-offending programme.hese, 59 per cent have already disclosed also
having abused children sexually; two-thirds reported that they offended online before
they offended in the physical world. Almost three-quarters of the clients, who are on
SAFE’s cyber-offending programme, are not mandated by the court to do so.”
Source: John McCarthy and Nathan Gaunt - SAFE
Finding a link between online and offline sexual offending
NetSafe Conference 2006
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Who looks at Child Pornography in New Zealand?
The largest group of people caught viewing child pornography are teenage boys who
are seldom prosecuted, the Department of Internal Affairs says.
There have been more than 200 convictions in New Zealand since 1993, and an
additional 120 teenage boys have been caught offending since 1997, but only 20 had
been prosecuted, the department’s gaming and censorship regulation director Keith
Manch said today.
“The parents of young offenders are encouraged to access counselling through their
GPs,” he told National Radio. “We are not aware of any of them having offended
again.”
Many of the young offenders were experimenting and did not understand what they
were looking at. “So it comes as a big shock to them and it certainly comes as a big
shock to their parents.”
Department investigations resulted on average in more than two convictions a month
and 30 cases were now before the courts, Mr Manch said earlier.
“Department inspectors have (also) provided intelligence reports that have led to many
more convictions in Australia, the United States, Canada, Britain and Europe.”
New Zealand has one of the most effective regimes in the world for detecting and
tracking Internet users who collected and distributed images of children being abused.
Source: DIA, Internet Traders Of Child Pornography:
Profiling Research
October 2005
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I think someone I know views Child Pornography – what should I do?
Please urge them to seek help – treatment for their actions. There are treatment
programmes specifi cally for people who view child pornography. Many of those are self
referred after partners, family members or friends discover their viewing habits. In New
Zealand there are treatment programmes available in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington
and Christchurch.
If people do not voluntarily seek help when confronted with viewing images of
child abuse it is only a matter of time before they are caught. The DIA Censorship
Compliance Unit works hard to track down viewers of child pornography and there are
severe penalties that can include up to 7 years in prison for possession of images and
fines of up to NZ$50,000.
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Can people who sexually abuse children stop?
Yes! In order to stop, people who sexually abuse children must want to change and
must get specialist treatment.
Many people who sexually abuse will learn to control themselves around children if
they are offered specialized treatment. When people with sexual behaviour problems
have the support and “tough love” of their friends and families, they are more likely to
complete their treatment programme and live productive, abuse-free lives.
Treatment does not offer a “cure” for sexual offending but does provide people with
the awareness and skills to prevent further offending if they chose to.
Source: www.safenetwork.co.nz
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Does reporting Child Pornography help rescue children?
Pictures can sometimes provide clues to where perpetrators are. In November 2001,
the Hotline received a tip about a series of pictures posted in a news group. The
pictures turned out to have been produced only a few days previously. The Swedish
Criminal Investigation Department was notifi ed and in turn contacted the police
authorities in a neighbouring Nordic country. Thanks to a small detail in one of the
pictures, the perpetrator could be identifi ed and arrested within 24 hours and the child
was placed in care.
That should have wrapped up the case. But a search of the man’s computer revealed
extensive information about dissemination of child pornography and far reaching
contacts with other people on the Net with similar interests. And four months later, the
San Diego Chronicle in California printed its fi rst article about what became known as
Operation Hamlet. The operation was a wide ranging international police collaboration
to bring to justice a child pornography network linking several countries: the United
States, UK, Denmark and Germany.
The operation succeeded in identifying and stopping more than forty on-going sexual
assaults on children. The paedophile and child pornography network was exposed. The
case illustrates how a tiny detail in a picture and a tip to a Hotline in combination with
pro-active action and prepared collaboration with the police can at times produce the
desired result. However, and this is part of the child pornography issue, the picture of
that child has already been spread and appears not infrequently in the fl ow of tips that
the Hotline processes daily.
Source: Beyond all Tolerance
Save the Children Sweden 2004
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