Child pornography Overview and current developments

The quantity and distribution of child abuse material ("child pornography") has substantially risen since the advent of the internet facilitated access. Due to the international character of the associated delinquency prosecution is confronted with several difficulties. In 2003 the European Union established a framework agreement to legally combat child pornography. The market for child abuse material is profitable, as production is comparably cheap. The number of convictions for relevant crimes varies but is generally still on a high level, even though reporting of relevant contents is decreasing. Providers and users might have switched to less controllable internet platforms. The physical and/or psychological sequelae for victims of child pornography are serious and ongoing. Studies show that compared to handson-offenders users of child exploitation material are generally younger, better educated and less often have a criminal record. Some of them (10-25%) fulfill the diagnostic criteria of pedophilia. A child pornography offender's risk of committing a hands-on-offence seems to be increasing with the diagnosis of pedophilia and antisocial personality traits. According to existing data, individuals whose only criminal record refers to illegal pornography seem to be at low risk for future offending with child abuse (0.2-6.6%). Offenders who were already convicted for child abuse have a higher risk for re-offending when consuming (deviant) pornography. Several cognitive behavioral treatment manuals exist, however accurate diagnostic assessment and indication are required.