Is the U.S the corporate giant of child porn?

The Netherlander police arrested a 27 year old man for sexually abusing more than 50 children for child pornography last week. He worked as a substitute at a daycare in Amsterdam and advertised for his babysitting job online. According to the report, he allegedly abused between 30 and 50 children for child pornography, but the investigation is ongoing. Aside from the number children who were victimized by this predator however, there is another reason why this case catches public's attention, particularly of those in the U.S. Based on the same report, the leading tip-off for the initial investigation was based on the U.S., where child porn produced by this Netherlander perpetrator was discovered.

Is the U.S. a corporate giant of child porn market?

Statistics on internet child pornography confirms the sad reality of child pornography market in the U.S. industry. According to Internet Watch Foundation report in 2008:

•Of all known child abuse domains, 58 percent are housed in the United States (Internet Watch Foundation. Annual Report, 2008).

•In a study of arrested child pornography possessors, 40 percent had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography. Of those arrested between 2000 and 2001, 83 percent had images involving children between the ages 6 and 12; 39 percent had images of children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings fro the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study.

What's more, Internet Watch Foundation stated that "the contents are becoming more abusive," as child pornography is the fastest growing market online. In 2008, Internet Watch Foundation also found that 1,536 individual hosting website for child pornography.

Pedophiles say

Pedophiles argue that children have the ability to consent to the sexual act as porn viewers argue that pornography is victimless crime. However, contrary to their unwarranted claims, children victimized by child pornography suffers from just as horrific symptoms as other sexually abused child victims according to the science. The symptomsinclude: Age inappropriate knowledge of sex, withdrawing from activities they used to be involved in, difficulty walking or sitting, complains of pain with urination or bowel movement, bleeding from the genital area or anus, academic problems, lowered self esteem, symptoms of PTSD such as panic attacks, somatic complaints, regression of behavior, having new words for private body parts, and excessive masturbation.

Children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable

According to the report on this child pornography case in the Netherlands, the 27 year old predator victimized many children with learning disabilities in the age up to four years old. Sadly, children with disabilities does not seem to be uncommon targets for many predators. One child pornography victim once contacted me with her story a while ago. She was having hard time finding someone to investigate her story, including the law enforcement and social workers. Understandably enough, because of her disability, it was not only difficult to make sense out of her story itself but also to find the ways to confirm the truth behind the trauma. However, the symptoms caused by her trauma were apparent throughout the interview. Yet, the society seems to be far from finding ways to protect these children from predators and the life-long trauma caused by the abuse.