Child Pornography Exposure: Effects, Risks, and Treatment

Introduction

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), as many as one out of every four children have experienced some type of abuse, including physical, emotional, or sexual abuse. Exposure to pornography, whether accidental or not, can be harmful to children's psychological and social development. However, coerced exposure to pornography is a more extensive form of abuse that coincides with other types of abuse, including psychological, physical, and sexual abuse. Coerced child pornography may in fact be one of the most harmful types of child abuse because of the multifaceted nature of the crime. The nationwide prevalence of abuse in the United States is over 700,000 children, with a prevalence of death at 2.13 deaths per 100,000 children (CDC, 2016).

Child abuse is not just an ethical issue; there are proven consequences of child abuse that have been substantiated by empirical evidence in the scientific literature. Among the harmful effects of child abuse are abnormal brain development, impaired cognitive skills development, learning disabilities, poor social or emotional skills adaptation, reduced language development, anxiety and mood disorders, and substance abuse (CDC, 2016).

Exposure to pornography leads to a different subset of effects, many of which relate to the social development of the child. Research has shown, for example, that exposure to pornographic material can lead to rigid gender stereotyping and even the condoning — if not the perpetration — of violence against women (Campo, 2016). Lack of self-esteem, mistrust of adults, trouble with authority, and self-destructive and self-harming behaviors are also known effects of child abuse (Department of Human Services, 2011). Although these are not causal studies, the harmful effects of simple exposure to pornography are nevertheless measurable. There are also correlations between frequent exposure to pornography and sexually coercive behavior later in the child's life (Campo, 2016). It is therefore imperative to eliminate child exposure to pornography. Yet the more pernicious problem related to the coerced participation of children in either amateur or professional pornography has not been studied in as much detail. Coercion of any type implies force; the child will often be psychologically manipulated, if not outright physically forced, to either watch pornography with the perpetrator or perform sexual acts in front of a camera with or for the perpetrator. The long-term effects of such coercive and abusive acts are extensive.

Exposure to Pornography

Exposure to pornography alone can lead to unhealthy and risky behaviors. One study shows that "teens who watch movies or listen to music that glamorizes drinking, drug use or violence tend to engage in those behaviors themselves" (Ross, 2012, p. 1). Other studies substantiate the mirroring effect, whereby children who watch pornography repeat what they see in videos or images. This could lead to high-risk sexual behaviors that expose a child to sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy. Moreover, exposure to pornography has been shown to be a risk factor for comorbid mental health issues such as intimacy disorders, mood disorders, and substance abuse disorders (Ross, 2012).

To mitigate the effects of pornography exposure, parents need to take a more active role in their child's education, and educators also need to take responsibility for informing children — as young as they are able to understand — about the difference between healthy sexuality and unhealthy sexuality, such as pornography that depicts coercion or violence against women. When children are educated early about sexuality, the mystique of pornography may be diminished, leading to a healthier and more realistic, age-appropriate developmental attitude toward sex.

However, exposure to pornography alone is not necessarily considered abuse. An abusive situation involving exposure to pornography may arise when a child is deliberately exposed to pornographic material by any adult or even another minor.

Coerced Involvement with Pornography

Exposure can in fact be a precursor to coerced participation, especially when some commercially produced pornography is designed to include images of children watching pornography. By creating pornographic videos in which a child is watching either live or recorded sex, the perpetrator attempts to impart a sense of normalization in order to manipulate the child. "A major use of commercial child pornography is to convince a potential child victim that the sexual acts desired by the adult offender are fun, exciting, can satisfy the child's curiosity and are a societally acceptable means of expressing affection" (Tyler & Stone, 1985, p. 313). In fact, what the child is watching is another child who had also been coerced, abused, and lied to. A young child has a malleable mind and can be susceptible to believing an adult or older child whom he or she trusts or admires. Therefore, reducing any kind of exposure to pornography through strict monitoring is essential to preventing the next stage: coerced participation in pornography. Unfortunately, child pornography is a global industry, and law enforcement often faces great difficulty tracking down black-market sources of child pornographic material, human traffickers, and other perpetrators.

Sex trafficking of minors is a major global industry integrated with organized crime, and recent research has emerged with alarming statistics revealing the extent of the problem — with 5,544 reported cases in the United States alone in 2015 (McPherson, 2016). These are only the reported cases; it is likely that the majority of incidents have not been reported. Even worse, some children find that when they ask for help or come forward to law enforcement, they become embroiled in the criminal justice system themselves, placed in untenable foster care situations, and end up in circumstances no better than when they were being trafficked (McPherson, 2016). In fact, McPherson (2016) notes that law enforcement will sometimes process victims of child pornography and child trafficking with criminal charges — for instance, if the minor was found in possession of a drug or other contraband, or if the child had exhibited behavioral problems. Unless law enforcement takes a more sensible approach to processing victims of child pornography, it is unlikely that all victims will be willing or able to come forward. The ongoing criminalization of prostitution can itself perpetuate the problem, as many witnesses to child trafficking, child pornography, or child prostitution may be afraid to come forward for fear of prosecution, depending on the jurisdiction.