Carlisle MP, Julie Minns has called for the media to stop minimising the seriousness of child sexual abuse by using outdated terms such as ‘child pornography’ and ‘kiddie porn.’
Speaking in a debate on online safety in the House of Commons, Ms Minns said she had “a clear ask to both the online and offline media and broadcast channels of our country.”
“Please stop describing these images as ‘kiddie porn’ and ‘child pornography’,” she said.
“I did a search of some online news channels before I came to this debate; that language is still prevalent, and it has to stop.
“These images are not pornography. They are evidence of a crime and evidence of abuse.
“They are not pictures or videos. They are depictions of gross assault, sadism and bestiality against children. They are obscene images involving penetrative sexual activity with teenagers, children and babies.
“Language matters, and it is time the seriousness of the offence was reflected in the language that describes it.”
Last year, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) assessed more than 390,000 reports and confirmed more than 275,000 web pages containing images or videos of children suffering sexual abuse.
According to the IWF each page contained hundreds, if not thousands, of indecent images of children.
The IWF reported that 2023 was the most extreme year on record, with more category A sexual abuse imagery discovered than ever before, 92 percent of it self-generated child abuse – meaning that the children have been targeted, groomed and coerced into sexual activities via webcams and devices with cameras.
For the first time, the IWF also encountered and analysed more than 2,400 images of sexual abuse involving children aged three to six.
Some 91 percent of those images were of girls, mainly in domestic settings such as their own bedrooms or bathrooms.
“Each image or video is not just a single act; every time it is viewed or downloaded is another time that that child is sexually abused,” added Ms Minns.
The call follows a historic conviction in Northern Ireland of prolific online predator Alexander McCartney.
He was jailed for child sexual abuse crimes and blackmail, along with one manslaughter charge with all offences carried out online.
THE HERDWICK NEWS 