|
Part 1: Chapter 3
My entire adult life has been spent in the field of child welfare and child protective services. As a result, my perspectives on the effects of pornography have been primarily focused on how these materials affect children and their families. However, in the course of the past year, it has become necessary to expand the boundaries of my concerns to include co-related issues such as adult victimization in the production, behavioral effects from the consumption, and crimes related to the production and consumption of pornography. Moreover, because a credible analysis must be a balanced one, I have found a critical need to weigh carefully the impact of any recommendation that might threaten the integrity of the First Amendment or unnecessarily limit choices available to the American public.
I have no doubt that there is very real harm resulting from the production, distribution and consumption of some pornography. Quite understandably, the nature and degree of the harm has been difficult to define. It is possible that establishment of a cause and effect relationship has and always will be an impossible task, given the human variables involved. In any case, it is clear that harms or benefits from consumption cannot be generalized accurately in that reactions to explicit materials will depend on the basic attitudes, situations, self-concepts, mental health, support services, and personal and sexual opportunities available to each individual consumer. Certainly, mere exposure to pornographic materials does not create criminal behavior. More than one observer of our Commission's work has noted that such a connection would render each Commissioner a potential sexual deviant.
It is therefore important to acknowledge that we cannot scientifically show that exposure to sexually explicit materials affects the behavior of most consumers. It is also important to acknowledge that we have no business regulating any expression in words or pictures without good cause. We do, however, have an obligation to protect those who are vulnerable to victimization, to prevent and deter crimes committed in the production or distribution of pornography, and to provide methods by which communities can preserve the quality of their neighborhoods.
I wish to focus on the victimization of children for several reasons. First, because this is my area of expertise, second, because I believe children are often given patronizing support but little genuine respect as valuable members of our society, and third, because children are clearly the most vulnerable of all who may be affected by pornography. This is not only because of their developmental limitations, but because there is an assumption that parents or other trusted caretakers can and will protect them. Moreover, I believe that the roots of so much of the demand for pornography and the exploitations in the production and forced consumption of pornography lie in the childhoods of those involved.
Because children are such defenseless and quiet victims, and because those who exploit them seem rarely to meet the public stereotype of the "child molester," the very existence of child sexual exploitation has been the very slowest of all offenses to emerge. There is a profound reluctance on the part of the American public to respond to this tragic dilemma. This relates to a disbelief that this kind of thing could happen, a lack of confidence in resources available within the various social and legal service systems, and the suppression of painful memories on the part of adults who themselves suffered as child victims and who were neither believed nor rescued.
As our social and legal systems have responded to the emerging revelations regarding sexual exploitation of children, a common trend has been that the ages of the victims have become younger and younger. Although we had begun to acknowledge the reality of the exploitation of adolescents in the production of pornography, we found that pictures of pre-pubescent children, toddlers, and even infants in sexually explicit depictions became increasingly prevalent. This trend toward the inclusion of very young children in pornography correlates with an identical trend in the physical abuse and sexual exploitation of children throughout the country.
Recently, communities throughout the United States have been shaken by disclosures of major multi-victim and multi-perpetrator child sexual molestations within preschool settings. From one end of the country to the other, children are coming forward as young as three and four years of age to relate stories strikingly and frighteningly similar regarding the most cruel and perverted sexual abuses imaginable, perpetrated by trusted caretakers and responsible members of the community.[1] Each time one of these cases emerges, the local community and its social and legal systems are so overwhelmingly shocked and incredulous of what they are hearing from these tiny youngsters, the process of intervention and prosecution is awkward, and usually unsuccessful.
One common theme that emerges repeatedly is the statement by the children that their pictures have been taken in sexually explicit poses while involved in perverted sexual activities. Other children have spoken of boxes of pictures being carried away just prior to police searches. In my opinion, there is little doubt that there is a connection between the ritualistic molestation of the children involved in the many alleged preschool multi-victim, multi-perpetrator molestation cases, and a child pornography market. However, since we have failed to discover pictures to substantiate this belief, the existence, nature, extent and those responsible for this market have not been determined. The recommendation for a national task force to study possible relations between these preschool sexual rings and an organized child pornography market is what I consider one of the most significant recommendations in this report.
Many other recommendations included in the Child Pornography section are particularly encouraging including those which strengthen support services for the child victims, sensitize and improve the effectiveness of legal/judicial procedures to accommodate the child victim, and those which provide children with information and skills to protect themselves against those who might exploit them, whether or not the perpetrator is a stranger, trusted adult or a parent.
I truly believe that a significant measure in the protection of children and subsequent generations against exploitation lies in the incorporation of family life preparation programs within school systems. This is a concept which was opposed by some of my fellow Commissioners, and certainly by many parents in the general public. However, the challenge of raising healthy children is perhaps the most significant task that will be faced by the largest number of students in American schools. A large percentage of children who become involved in pornography and prostitution have run away from violent or exploitive homes.[2] Most reported child molestation is perpetrated by a family member.[3] In other words, if we depend completely on parental guidance, many children will never receive the benefit of information regarding their rights and responsibilities in making personal choices and the requirements of healthy parenting. Other children's own healthy experiences at home can be enhanced by age appropriate curriculum which clearly must respect the role of parents in determining life styles, cultural practices, and religious preferences. It seems incredible to me that we are unwilling to focus concern and educational resources on promoting healthy parenting and inter-personal skills at a level commensurate with our commitment to other curricula which may be of far less importance in the lives of future generations.
I would hope that educational systems throughout the country will follow the examples set by many school systems, including Los Angeles County, in responding to this major investment in our Country's future.
The question has arisen regarding the effects of adult pornography on children. Children at various ages process information differently, and the psychological sense that something has an erotic meaning comes biologically and culturally with age. (Compare the reaction of a 17 year old and the reaction of his infant brother to the sight of a woman's breasts.) There are variations in how individual children develop intellectually and physically, and there are changes in children's vulnerability at critical stages. Moreover, a particular child's reaction to sexually explicit stimuli will depend to a great degree on that child's personal strengths and familial and social structures.
For obvious ethical reasons, we cannot condone large scale studies of the effects of exposure to pornography on various age groups of children. However, one can surmise from the availability of information we have regarding developmental age vulnerabilities of children that those in the early adolescent age group might be the most susceptible and the least capable of managing social and psychological dilemma produced by exposure to pornography.[4]
Whatever the actual impact may be on children at any age, and given our inability to be scientifically exact on that issue, it seems clear that we have a responsibility to protect children against whatever potential harm may result from such exposure. For this reason, I strongly support laws which prohibit the sale of pornographic materials to children and prohibit children's entry into establishments which specialize in "Adults Only" materials. I am also pleased with the voluntary actions taken by many businesses to limit children's access to sexually explicit materials.
In my opinion, violent materials, sexual or non-sexual, are cause for the most serious concern regarding potential negative effects on children's attitudes and behavior. These materials have become increasingly pervasive in our culture. There is a critical need to seriously consider how we can effectively discourage proliferation of these destructive messages which reach out to children on television, in theatres and even by way of their toys and comic books.
There are some who believe that restrictions placed upon the adult consumption of pornography should be as strong as restrictions on children's consumption of pornography. The rationale given is that anything available to adults will eventually fall into the hands of chidren. Although there is little doubt that childhood curiosity will creatively find access to "forbidden" materials, I do not believe the "equal restriction" perspective is realistic or an avenue of choice. The laws of our society currently place many differentiated restrictions on adults and children. Certainly, the negative effects of alcohol consumption on children who access their parent's liquor cabinets is clearly established. We recommend closer parental supervision and either removal of the alcohol from the home or locking the doors of the liquor cabinet. When children become alcoholics, a growing national concern, recommendations include individual and family counseling, or Alcoholics Anonymous.
We can develop parallel responses in relation to children accessing their parent's pornography-closer parental supervision, use of lock boxes on televisions with cable programming, and mental health or other services for children exhibiting inappropriate or anti-social behavior following the consumption of pornography. Again, while we should not deny the potential harm that pornography may inflict on children who view it, it is extremely important to keep sight of other possible causes of what we consider to be negative behavioral effects. If a child who has been exposed to pornography begins exhibiting inappropriate sexual behavior, we must be extremely careful not to focus solely on the pornography, denying the possibility that the child may have been molested or, on the other hand, denied warm loving relationships within the family unit.
Children who have a well-integrated and reinforced positive sense of self are less apt to accept violent, callous, impersonal images of other people as part of their personal concept of life. Children who have healthy age-appropriate images of affectionate behaviors are less apt to accept perverse or violent destructive images as part of their own internal or external self. They do need social support systems to absorb confusion when it is present and to provide structures that allow them to explore their own responses to such stimuli.
The Commission's majority vote to encourage allocation of obscenity intervention resources in a prioritized manner has caused some concern on the part of those who believe all categories of pornography to be equally damaging. It is clear that current law enforcement resources are inadequate to respond effectively and appropriately to all types of pornography at all times. The prioritization should assist in focusing attention on those violent, degrading and dehumanizing materials that have gradually emerged, with impunity, as a major market. This does not preclude pursuing action against other material. However, it is the violent and degrading materials that reflect the changing nature of pornography in America, a major impetus for the creation of our Commission. We saw these materials, we were shocked by them, and our reactions and concerns about them should be and were reflected in the decision to give them first priority in the allocation of law enforcement resources.
It was the majority opinion of the Commission that law enforcement agencies should not be encouraged to commit resources to the prosecution of the non-illustrated pornographic written word, unless the message is directed to children or involves child pornography. Again, there has been a great deal of concern regarding the possible proliferation of obscene books which encourage sexual perversions and other crimes. While I agree that passages in certain paperback books sold in adult book stores represent the most vile and offensive messages imaginable, I do not believe it is realistic or constructive to presume that obscenity prosecutions can be initiated or will be effective in protecting the public from any possible negative effects from the materials. I do, however, believe that the fear of censorship expressed by librarians and others concerned for the protection of literature which may contain "explicit" passages, is an extremely important consideration. Our Commission's respect for the special place of the written word was more a statement of support for freedom of speech than an action which was meant to, or will, change existing practices in the enforcement of obscenity laws.
The time and structual constraints placed upon our Commission's work were extremely problematic, causing concern regarding compromise made in the final editing process. The workload has been unmanageable throughout the year. The ultimate task of reviewing over two thousand pages of final draft in three days time to meet our print deadline was totally unrealistic. In addition, the critical job of consolidating and clearing all the Commissioner's last minute corrections was an unreasonable expectation of the already exhausted Staff, who have reportedly worked into every night of the last several weeks. If the Commission had more resources to pursue additional study, more opportunity to meet in sub-committees, and more time to review the final product, I believe a more thoughtful and confident consensus would have resulted. However, given the Commission's limitations, the final report is a document which raises issues that are relevant and worthy of a considerable investment of time and energy made by each Commissioner and the Staff. There are two specific recommendations about which I wish to express concern.
The arbitrary imposition of a felony status for second offenders could possibly discourage any actions on some second offenses by Prosecutors denied room for negotiation.
While I support the concept of civil rights actions on behalf of victims, a rewriting of the substantiation for this recommendation was not available for review by Commissioners at the time of the deadline for this statement.
It is also of considerable concern that the Commission members were never able to agree on the types of materials that fall within the framework for classes I, II, and III materials. In the absence of such clarity, and without a comprehensive survey of materials available in bookstores, theatres, video outlets, and other vendors, it is only conjecture to presume that the "predominance" of obscene materials portray degradation.
The issues surrounding pornography defy simplification, challenge objectivity, and create passionate responses from opposing extremes of a multitude of political, religious, and philosophical spectrums.
It is my sincere hope that our focus on these confounding and controversial issues will assist the American people to develop a knowledgeable concern regarding the potential impact of pornography on their children and their communities, an understanding of the personal choices and public policy alternatives available to them, and the realization that pornography is the product of a demand resulting from a host of motivations we have only begun to identify.
It has occurred to me, throughout our Commission's hearings, that the subject of our inquiry, whether relating to adult or child pornography, has a very significant and direct connection to many issues surrounding the abuses and exploitation of children. I saw the clear characteristics of a helpless child in each adult victim testifying before us, and this helped me to understand how and why they tolerated the abuses about which so many are skeptical. I saw the angry and inadequate adult reenacting his or her own childhood abuses in much of the sadomasochistic materials. Perhaps most significantly, I saw the sad, lonely and desperate search for intimacy denied in childhood on the faces of those who stood haplessly in the adult bookstores and those who told us of their addictions to obscene materials. It occurred to me, over and over again, that the real issue might be the effects of American family life on the consumption of pornography, rather than the reverse.
Notes
|
Layout and design
(c)2004 www.porn-report.com