The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 8th February 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Downloading child pornography is an offence

Why in News?

Recently, the Madras High Court, in S. Harish vs Inspector of Police, quashed the judicial proceedings and held that downloading child pornography was not an offence under Section 67B of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The High Court categorically said that watching child pornography per se was not an offence as the accused had merely downloaded it onto his electronic gadget and had watched it in private.

What is Child Pornography?

• About:
  • Child pornography refers to the creation, distribution, or possession of sexually explicit material involving minors. In India and globally, it's a heinous crime with severe implications, perpetuating the sexual exploitation and abuse of children.
  • Online child pornography is the manifestation of digital exploitation, refers to the production, distribution, or possession of sexually explicit material involving minors through digital platforms.
  • The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019 defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct involving a child including photograph, video, digital or computer generated image indistinguishable from an actual child.
• Indian Scenario:
  • The spike in cases of child pornography reflects the grim picture of online child sexual abuse in India. According to NCRB (National Crime Report Bureau) 2021 the cases have increased from 738 (2020) to 969 (2021).
• Impact:
  • Psychological Impact: Porn creates a psychological impact on children. It is associated with depression, anger and anxiety. It can lead to mental distress. It also impacts day to day functioning of children, their biological clock, their work, and their social relationship.
  • Impact on Sexuality: When seen regularly, it gives a sense of sexual gratification and sexual obsession, which leads to a willingness to do the same things in real life.
  • Sexual Addiction: According to some experts, pornography is like an addiction. It produces a similar effect on the brain as produced by consumption of drugs or alcohol on a regular basis.
  • Behavioral Impact: Adolescent pornography use is associated with stronger beliefs in gender stereotypes, particularly for males. Male adolescents who view pornography frequently are more likely to view women as sex objects.
    • Pornography may strengthen attitudes supportive of sexual violence and violence against women.

What are the Challenges to Deal with Pornography?

• The effect of pornography is different in children belonging to the lower class compared to children belonging to the high class. A single approach won't be able to handle the issue effectively.
• In India, sex is seen as negative (something which should be hidden). There is no healthy family dialogue regarding sex. It leads the child to learn this from outside which leads to an addiction to pornography.
• It's very difficult for agencies to detect the activities of child pornography and monitor them effectively.
• Availability of obscene content on regular websites and OTT (over the top) services like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hotstar, etc, make it difficult to differentiate between the non-vulgar content and vulgar content.

Way Forward

• Child porn should be banned immediately. Most of the time, the first exposure of porn to a child is accidental for eg. in the form of advertisement while browsing for other things on the internet. The government should try to find technological solutions to stop accidental exposure.
• Awareness and sex education is a must and should be made compulsory in schools. Parents and teachers must be skilled to deal with children in the modern era and technology.