This is a very complex issue – one that needs thorough examination.
What I see going on now are multiple trends happening in unison, most of which are ultimately bad for children. Whether or not there is in fact a boom in pedophilia or even child molestation, it is certainly something that has become a “hot button” topic with a large portion of money and time spent on the issue that could really be better spent on breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect that leads to these crimes. Instead, it is spent on the following:
On one hand we have for the first time, special and extreme attention aimed at pedophilia and sex crimes. We have a situation where it’s being sensationalized beyond the scope of reality. We have tv shows and special police forces who are not only aiming to catch actual pedophiles but actually luring people into being far bolder than they would have been in order to permanently ruin their public life.
This is bad for children because for the most part, they aren’t stopping 90% of child abuse and molestation.. they’re just making examples out of the fringe cases from internet chat rooms, most of whom would never have strayed beyond their keyboards.. so they go to jail and have their info posted on the sex offenders list, while the real sex offenders.. the people who take photos of the kids they abuse, they walk free.
Another ingredient: commercialism. Corporate advertising is becoming increasingly aimed at sexualizing younger and younger kids, girls especially. All for the sake of profit, companies in all kinds of industries (clothes/fashion, pop music, magazines, movies, tv, toys) are targeting our children with laser beams of overtly sexualized media. This message attached to any product (a person, a wearable, a consumable, etc.) says the same thing to girls: “You will not be liked/loved/noticed unless you dress like a slutty adult, act flirty, and fit in to the culture we’re trying to manufacture with this marketing campaign. Buying our product will help you to do those things and attain the recognition you desire.” A similar but decidedly less oppressive message applies to boys.
This kind of commercialism is probably one of the most influential drivers of producing new predators and victims.. and it’s only getting worse. Psychologists and criminal lawyers alike report that sexualized and explicit media are one of the tools that convicted child molesters use to influence their victims into thinking that their sexual advances are okay, acceptable, and even desirable.. and that’s exactly what the world of business is providing.
Another bad thing is how “the scare” is being presented, yet again. 90% or so (maybe more) of even reported cases of child molestation occur between a child and adult who already know each other.. family or family friends. This boogyman of the lone stranger pedophile molester is largely a myth.. and a particularly damaging one for our children because once again, it focuses on the fringe cases while most of the men (most child molesters are men) who are exploiting kids are free to keep molesting.
So in light of all this.. I think that if a person is caught with abuse photos they didn’t take – they should be given a stern warning and be periodically monitored somehow.. if they paid for the photos then maybe include a fine. It’s the people that are actually molesting the children, the ones taking the photos that people should be more concerned about.. and that includes corporate america. They need to be held accountable for what they’re doing.