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Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977)
Tatyana Frederick
Springfield College
MSSW 611-15
Frank Robinson
11/21/2021
Abstract
Child pornography is a huge problem Americans have faced for many years. The dispute that led to this law started in 1976 when National Broadcasting Corporation writer recognized as Robin Lloyd revealed that pornography was a rising and huge business. Judianne Densen Gerber used Robin’s idea in a bid for mobilizing public opinion on the issue. Although American society has frequently faced this problem, the administrators had approved many reforms to protect children. The Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977) represents one law that has been approved in the past years to overcome such a problem. This law was supported by Democrats such as John Murphy as well as Dale Kildee. The law carried a maximum fine of fifty thousand dollars and about 20 years detention for any person sentenced to filming or enticing children to participate in sexual acts. The House of Representatives universally approved the law. This discussion suggests that this law played an essential role in preventing children from engaging in pornographic activity in the late 1970s. Such an aspect was evident when producers, distributors, and parents faced criminal charges whenever they engaged in child phonography. Furthermore, the discussion reveals that this law has been democratic and just. Finally, it shows that The Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977) led to greater social equality.
Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977)
Introduction
In the discussion, I am going to explore the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977). I am going to delve into the law in the context of what triggered its approval. Apart from what led to the approval of this law, the aspects which were incorporated in this law will be covered. For instance, I will highlight that administrator’s recommended detention of individuals who participated in the law. I will also reveal that producers and distributors were banned from exposing Americans to materials that depicted children participating in pornography. Moreover, I will determine if the law was just and democratic. Finally, I will display how this law led to greater social equality.
Historical Background of the Policy
From 1950s -1970s
In the 1950s, the distribution and production of visual materials portraying children engaging or participating in sexual conduct were observed in the context of child abuse. Although child pornography was illegal, there were no laws that prevented producers from allowing children to engage in pornographic activity. As such many children were lured to participate in pornography. The distributors also ensured that many Americans were exposed to these materials. In fact, some media houses recommended that child pornography was a profitable and booming business between the 1950s and the 1970s. Furthermore, entire states had sex offenses laws that prohibited children from engaging in sexual acts such as incest, and so on. These legislations seemed to reach the producers and distributors of child pornography. Nonetheless, the First Amendment only prohibited cases where adults sexually molested children (Hessick, 2018). However, where children were forced to pose with other children or alone was ignored. Although the administrators intended to prevent children from sexual molestation, the application of these 1st Amendment laws seemed to have been limited in many ways. Firstly, the First Amendment laws which prohibited prostitution were limited in that they only imposed liability on parents and guardians. Secondly, the First Amendment laws had comparatively weak penalty provisions. Thirdly, many of the legislations only prohibited physical abuse. Furthermore, people who came up with the laws hardly considered that child pornography exposed a child to psychological and physical harm.
The First Amendment legislations which outlawed prostitution acts was further applied by producers who participated in abusive activity when producing child pornography. Similarly to the children abuse laws, these legislations had weak penalty provisions (Hessick, 2018). The present obscenity statutes prohibited the distribution and the production of legally indecent materials. If any child pornography was obscene under existing laws, there was most probably no need for further laws. Overall, the application of indecent legislation would efficiently ban the use of children in officially indecent materials (Donnelly, 1978). Nonetheless, these legislations would offer no relief for children who were likewise photographed and sexually molested, though their pictures appeared in non-obscene materials. These problems were further linked with the difficulty of prosecution under the existing obscenity legislation and the limited priority status of offensiveness prosecutions.
1977
In general, even though many forms of existing legislation were already applicable to child pornography, their limited effect enabled producers to produce many pornographic materials. As such, the publicity linked with child pornography motivated laws to be designed to curb this problem in 1977 (Donnelly, 1978). In varying combinations, the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977) imposed criminal liability on entire producers and distributors in the child pornographic industry. That is, the federal and 39 other states made it illegal to entice children to be photographed in child pornography. Furthermore, Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977) made it difficult for parents or guardians to allow their children to participate in the production of child pornography. Finally, with the assistance of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977), the administrators imposed criminal liability on both sellers and distributors of child pornography.
Description of the Problem that Necessitated the Problem
The problem that necessitated the approval of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977) was the use of children in pornography. Even though this problem was common in the past years, publicizing the problem of child pornography in many media outlets enabled it to be countrywide agenda in the 1970s. This phenomenon was evident when over two hundred and sixty magazines were present in America depicting children engaging in sexually explicit conduct (Donnelly, 1978). It was also displayed when thousands of short films involving children were produced and sold annually. The other present forms of child pornography which were available included playing cards, video cassettes, as well as still photographs. In specific, the dispute that led to the law started in 1976, when NBC writer Robin Lloyd produced materials that displayed that child pornography was an increasing business (Donnelly, 1978). Activists such as Judianne Densen- Gerber used Robin’s idea in a bid for mobilizing public opinion on the problem of pornography. This was evident when she used media outlets like the New York Times as well as 60 Minutes to expose Americans to this problem.
The above-mentioned materials depicted children, as young as 3 years old, participating in entire forms of sexual activity, including rape, incest, and masturbation. Furthermore, these materials showed children engaging in sexual intercourse, rape, cunnilingus, as well as lewd poses (Donnelly, 1978). Lastly, these children were depicted with adults and other children of the same sexuality. Since producing pornographic material was a secret, it became extremely hard in a bid to correctly estimate the population of children who participated in the production of child pornography. However, estimates ranged from about thirty thousand children directly engaged in child pornography, to about 900,000 if entire types of commercial and sexual exploitation of children were considered (Burke, 1995).
Even though it was hard to generalize the types of children who were directly involved in pornography, most of the victims were perceived to have come from broken homes. Many people pondered that most of the children were runaways given that they were isolated and had limited finance (Donnelly, 1978). As such, they argued that these children had no other option rather than to sell their bodies. In most cases, the producers served as parent models for the children, at times gaining children’s trust before getting involved in sexual exploitation (Burke, 1995). In this regard, they made children observe that posing for pictures and engaging in other forms of prostitution activities was an easy way that they could acquire finance.
By 1977, the production of pornographic material airing children was a countrywide phenomenon with main production centers being positioned in large urban regions. The child pornographic business could be best understood in the context of a two-tiered industry made up of distributors as well as producers (Donnelly, 1978). The producers were mainly involved in using children in a bid for producing pornographic material. This group involved individuals who enticed children so that they could appear in the visual material. Second, the producers were people who photographed the children. On the other hand, the distributer group included people who sold magazines, films, and books. Furthermore, the distributors directly engaged in operating theaters, book stores, and so on (Donnelly, 1978). Even though such a group was barely directly involved in the abuse of children, it exposed the producers to incentives that motivated them to produce more pornographic materials. Large profit margins and more demand for pornographic material created a great economic incentive that led to the production and distribution of more child pornography.
Whereas many Americans opposed the involvement of children in pornography, they mainly relied on concrete harms. That is, they argued that child pornography affected children and society negatively in multiple ways (Donnelly, 1978). The most likely harms that critics addressed were mental and emotional damage that children who were forced to engage in diverse sexual acts at young age faced. Due to these early sexual encounters, the critics pondered that these sexually abused children seemed to be exposed to problems in developing healthy loving connections in the following years. In fact, the critics argued that sexually abused children seemed to be frigid and promiscuous (Donnelly, 1978). Moreover, they perceived that these children seemed to become sexual abusers as soon as they become adults. They also specifically noted that the emotional harm that children faced differed with age, severity, and frequency of child abuse.
Although most of the children who became victims of pornography production were affected emotionally, they further experienced physical harm. Most of such harm originated from being molested by an adult, whether it was recorded on films or not (Donnelly, 1978). Even when a child was photographed with other children or alone, the producers frequently engaged in sexual activity after and before photographing. Therefore, the lack of adults in the visual materials hardly meant that a child had barely been sexually assaulted by an adult. Although the relationship between sex crimes and indecent material was hotly discussed, child pornography further appeared to play a key role in sexually molesting children (Donnelly, 1978). Pornography, especially images of children was used in a bid to sexually stimulate the child and molester. Furthermore, the photos assisted to overcome the inhibitions children could have regarding the acts which they were expected to commit.
Apart from the direct relationship between molestation and child photography, these pornographic materials were dangerous to society generally. Even though limited studies were undertaken to determine how child pornographic material affected children, many people argued that they would lead to decay in moral principles and family values (Donnelly, 1978). Overall, the problems linked with child pornography were most likely found in the distribution and production of pornographic materials. Therefore, when the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) recommended that child pornography was big and rising business, Judianne Densen and many other Americans used this opportunity to mobilize public opinion on the problem (Donnelly, 1978). As such, they made Congress approve the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation Act of 1977.
Policy Description
As mentioned above, in 1977, America’s Congress responded to the enhancing challenge of child pornography with the approval of this act. The Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act took several diverse forms before the legislators approved the final version. The initial proposal was only composed of Section 2251, developed in a bid for preventing the production of child pornography. Nonetheless, the second provision, Section 2252, was created to reach pornography producers and phonography recipients or audiences (Donnelly, 1978). Both sections 2252, as well as 2251, initially addressed the cognitive aspect of “knowingly”. As the legislators continued to comment on the act, Patricia Wald suggested that the Senate Judiciary Committee should remove the word “knowingly’’ in Section 2251 (Donnelly, 1978). Wald particularly posited that the inclusion of “knowingly” in the act was appropriate in a bid for making it clear that the bill hardly applied to common carriers.
Finally, Congress removed “knowingly’’ from section 2251. Nonetheless, the bill approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, after the Justice Department comments, omitted Section 2252. Hence, if both the Senate as well as House of Representatives were later implemented the perceptions of the Justice Department in further versions of Section 2252 remain barely clear (Donnelly, 1978). In response to the Senate’s removal of Section 2252, Senator Roth recommended a fresh version of the law. First of all, she suggested that no individual should be allowed to knowingly ship, transport, and distribute photographic materials where children were involved in the United States (Donnelly, 1978). Secondly, she recommended that no person should knowingly receive to sell, or distribute any child pornographic material. Two members of the senate elaborated their desires concerning “knowingly” in such version of Section 2252. For instance, Senator Percy proposed that in a bid for acting “knowingly”, then it was necessary for the distributors and sellers to recognize that the materials contained child pornographic pictures (Donnelly, 1978). In response, Senator Roth posited that it was important for the distributors and sellers who marketed child pornography materials to be subjected to persecution under such amendment.
The Conference Committee finally approved Senator Roth’s version with some transformations. Firstly, it was well highlighted that the administrators were interested in protecting children from diverse harms. That is, this law was created to minimize abuse which children might have encountered as a result of producers who intended to use their images to gain more profits (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). Secondly, the legislators approved that individuals who obtained children to engage in pornography played an active duty in the child pornography industry. They particularly highlighted that such persons directly enhanced child abuse intrinsic in the production process.
Moreover, they recommended that if parents and guardians could permit their children to participate in pornographic activity, then they could be a subset of the coercer group. As such, they would be detained and charged for criminal liability. On the other hand, they finally approved that the distributors could face criminal charges whenever they were found in possession of a child pornographic material (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). They particularly outlined that this law was effective given that it would prevent the harm the society and children could face as a result of being exposed to these materials. Nonetheless, in regard to the state’s interest, the legislators elaborated that the duty of the state to protect children from harms linked to the production of child pornography could hardly be disputed (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). In this regard, they finally suggested that sanctions imposed on the production of child pornography could enable them to overcome this problem.
Policy Analysis
Legality
The objectives of this policy were legal due to multiple reasons. Firstly, the legality of the law was evident when the legislators defined that only children who were under 16 years were prohibited from engaging in the pornography industry (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). These rulings could be used to consenting adults who seemed to be young. Since child pornography laws were designed to protect children from actual harm, these definitions also extended to police power (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). The law was also legal when to establish the charge of the defendants, the state was expected to affirm that children were displayed in the political material. In practice, such seemed to be a main problem for the prosecutors. That is, it became hard to find these children to testify in the courts (O’Donnell & Milner, 2012). To circumnavigate such a challenge, many states recommended that it was compulsory to present expert medical testimony in the courts. This was based upon children’s physical appearance via analysis of the visual material and a conclusive evaluation of the child’s age.
Furthermore, this law was legal given that the administrators outlined that the illegal sexual conduct should be confined to activities that caused harm to the child actor. Harm was categorized in the form of mental, emotional, and physical difficulty to the child (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). Although the law was clear on legality, what was unclear was the harm linked with conditions surrounding production. Even though there was a close relationship between production and molestation in some instances, the state could hardly assume that children were harmed away from the camera (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). Instead, the law was more concerned with the problems which children faced as a result of participating in sexual conduct with either adults or children.
Democratic and Just
Apart from the law being legal, it was also democratic and just. The law justified this aspect given that it enabled the government to use the entire avenues to constitutionally stop such crime. As mentioned above, it represented a democratic and just administrator’s effort in a bid for thwarting the rise of the child pornography industry (Gillespie, 2018). The ultimate efficiency of this child pornography law depended on the determination of balance which could be drawn between the administrator’s desire in protecting children and 1st Amendment privileges.
The goals of the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977) contributed to greater social equality. There are four key criteria in which the level of social equity could be analyzed. These levels included distributional equity, outcome disparities, procedural fairness, and process equality (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020). Distribution equity involved increasing commitment to offering resources and equal access to the law when the administrators noted that children were exposed to pornographic materials (Gillespie, 2018). On the other hand, for outcome disparities, the legislators determined that there were differences in earnings between children and adults. As such, they realized that they were required to rectify such outcome disparities via analyzing what led to the differences. In this regard, they enlightened children and their family members about the demerits of child pornography. They also exposed them to rights which enabled them to perceive that they were members of society.
Procedural Fairness
In contrast, procedural fairness was displayed when the administrators set up legal procedures to enable producers enticing children to face criminal charges. Apart from the producers, procedural fairness was displayed when distributors and parents who willingly allowed their children to engage in pornographic activity could face legal actions (Gillespie, 2018). However, process equity could be noticed when the legislators ensured that the laws which they approved provided consistency in service delivery. Although this law was approved in the past years, in the present years, process equity can also be evident when the government has coordinated with organizations such as UNICEF to prevent child pornography (Gottfried, Shier, & Mulay, 2020).
With the assistance of UNICEF, the administrators have specifically called for inclusive approaches in a bid for promoting children’s safety online and in their homes. They have also ensured that digital service providers follow applicable standards and codes which empower children and enable them to occupy a better place in society (Gillespie, 2018). Whereas technological and regulatory initiatives are important, they are barely sufficient on their own. In this regard, the administrators should ensure that they teach and empower children to traverse the digital environment with critical thinking and media literacy (Gillespie, 2018). Moreover, guardians, parents, and many other stakeholders should be trained so that they can help children in such endeavors. The outlooks of children should be issued weight in issues that affect them, including reforms that enhance online security (Gillespie, 2018). Finally, they should create school-based initiatives and mass media campaigns that expose children from vulnerable ethnic communities to the problems they might face when they are introduced to pornographic materials.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation Act (1977) has been explored in this discussion. The act has been covered in the context of its history, what triggered its approval and how it assisted administrators to overcome the problem of child pornography. Overall, this act was approved in 1977 after Robin highlighted that the pornography business was a growing and huge business. The law carried a maximum fifty thousand dollar fine and up to 20 years imprisonment for any individual convicted of photographing children participating in sexual acts. Furthermore, the administrators outlined that parents and guardians could face criminal charges when they willingly allowed their children to participate in child photography.
References
Burke, P. A. (1995). The United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc.: Stretching the Limits of Statutory Interpretation. La. L. Rev., 56, 937.
Donnelly, T. C. (1978). Protection of Children from Use in Pornography: Toward Constitutional and Enforceable Legislation. U. Mich. JL Reform, 12, 295.
Gillespie, A. A. (2018). Child pornography. Information & Communications Technology Law, 27(1), 30-54.
Gottfried, E. D., Shier, E. K., & Mulay, A. L. (2020). Child pornography and online sexual solicitation. Current psychiatry reports, 22(3), 1-8.
Hessick, C. B. (2018). The Expansion of Child Pornography Law. New Criminal Law Review, 21(3), 321-344.
O’Donnell, I., & Milner, C. (2012). Child pornography: Crime, computers, and society. Willan.