We all know that the internet is a powerful tool, in the click of a button I’ll send this post out to hundreds of thousands of readers. Every day we all sit there and can send our thoughts to just about anyone and anyone, and in that same moment that we; send forwards of jokes, search for lost friends, buy a new pair of jeans, look for a vacation or just read the news, millions of children are violated and abused. Yes, in that same flash that you instant messaged your best friend about your date last night, an image of an abused child was sent across the world to be viewed by millions.
A pornographic image is not a onetime image of abuse, but every time that image is viewed that child is once again abused and violated. Once out in cyberspace that image is lost in the fast paced internet world, never to be fully recovered again. The issue of child porn is a sensitive one, for its victims are never allowed to escape their abusers, as their abuse continues indefinitely, once circulated.
While the persecution of pedophiles and the efforts of law enforcement have increased, so has the difficulty to catch these offenders and find their innocent victims. To prosecute on behalf of each and every child or image, one must prove the child is "real', and this is where the law and reality begin to shift apart. You may find 100 images on one person's computer, and there may be 80 different children involved, but in order to prosecute on behalf of each image and child you must find each child, and often use them for testimony. This is where law enforcement and reality seem to crash and burn, for the identities of most children may never be found, and even if some are found they may be scattered around the world, and therefore building a solid case is often marred by distance and economics.
The lack of funding has been the pitfall for many victims of child pornography. As law enforcement officials try to grapple with the increasingly quick spread of pornographic images, the victims of internet porn are getting younger and the images are increasingly more violent.
However on September 24th, the United States Congress passed the PROTECT Our Children Act, (H.R. 3845/S. 1738). What does this mean?
– Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
– Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
– Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.
While the new US act will clearly aid in the detection and prosecution of those involved in the use of child pornography, it will not truly aid those millions of children who are left to deal with the idea of their image in cyberspace for the remainder of their life.
