linked to it which seems to legitimise it , such as use of the term pornography , could be viewed as inappropriate . However , the moral panic surrounding ‘ child pornography ’ has been ongoing since the late 19th Century , when the notion of young ( white ) girls as vulnerable and in need of protection gained traction in society . 34 In addition , our construction of children as innocent 35 means that the combination of the two words may in fact signify the impossibility of the material being consensual .
In the last decade an alternative term has entered common usage : Child Sex Abuse Material , typically and hereafter referred to as CSAM . Semantically , the term CSAM is more precise than child pornography . However , use of an acronym can be confusing if you are not already familiar with it , which can lead people to assume other meanings . 36 However , CSAM is perhaps less likely to be misinterpreted than the acronym of ‘ child pornography ’ ( CP ) which in social care settings can mean Child Protection 37 and in healthcare can mean Cerebral Palsy . 38
Increasingly , CSAM is being adopted as the official term both internationally 39 and nationally . 40 However , there has been little attempt to define the term in a way that would avoid the inclusion of consensual youth sexual image sharing . 41 I therefore propose to define the term as : sexual images of children which are made due to an abuse of a position of power of the perpetrator over the victim . This is usually the power of an adult over a child but can also occur when power differences exist between children , either because of age or ( dis ) ability . This power imbalance distinction excludes consensual youth sexual image sharing between peers . Ensuring definitional clarity can prevent the unnecessary inclusion of youth sexual image sharing in discussions about preventing the creation and dissemination of CSAM . This definition could therefore be adopted in legal and policy settings to ensure young people who consensually share images do not risk being criminalised for a normalised sexual behaviour .
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