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<strong>Child</strong> PornograPhy First report oF the Dutch NatioNal rapporteur
Next, we will examine a number of aspects of the victimisation of children as a result of child abuse
material. We will successively discuss the impact upon the victims and the characteristics of victims
(age group, gender and ethnicity). Finally we will examine the (indirect) victimisation of the parents of
victims of child pornography.
The impact of child abuse material upon victims
The identities of abused children who feature in child abuse material often remain unknown. Consequently,
little is known about the impact on the victims caused by the fact that images depicting the
abuse of these children are permanently circulating on the Internet. 310 In a recent German study 311 of
this impact, amongst other aspects, all of the professionals who were interviewed expected that awareness
of the existence of material depicting the sexual abuse will always result in additional psychological
stress experienced by the victim. Although many victims are initially unaware of the permanent nature
of the material in which they feature, this realisation, which often only occurs much later, gives rise to
a feeling of complete loss of control, powerlessness, helplessness, shame and anxiety. Furthermore,
it emerged from the study that victims are afraid that individuals who view the child abuse material in
which they feature will believe that they performed or experienced the sexual acts voluntarily. The fact
that many perpetrators coerce their victims into smiling whilst the recordings are being produced serves
to reinforce this anxiety. 312 <strong>Child</strong>ren smiling in abusive material in which they feature acts as a means
of neutralisation as far as viewers are concerned: they can consequently convince themselves that their
viewing of these images is less deplorable, as the impression is created that the children enjoy featuring
in these types of images. 313
Pre-adolescent victims
<strong>Child</strong>ren up to five years of age are particularly vulnerable to becoming victims, as unlike older children
they are more open to inappropriate requests, such as taking off their clothes for a photograph. 314 Very
young children are unaware or less aware of the sexual context of what they are being requested to do,
and consequently they are less likely to report it to an adult. 315 With regard to reporting the abuse, babies
and toddlers in particular constitute a more vulnerable group within the pre-adolescent group, as
they are not yet able, or are less able, to communicate verbally, and have greater difficulty in expressing
their emotions than older children. It is therefore essential that both adults and care workers are alert
to physical indicators and non-verbal communication by these children, in order to be able to detect
if they are being sexually abused. If very young children demonstrate (‘excessive’) knowledge of sex or
display sexual behaviour that is not typical of their age group, this forms a strong indicator of sexual
abuse. 316 It is also highly desirable for care workers to be sensitive to such indicators. It is obvious that
it is not easy to detect whether very young children are being sexually abused. The existence of images
of the abuse, however, increases the likelihood of being able to do so, since images depicting the abuse
provide evidence that it has taken place. This is why extensive sexual abuse of babies and toddlers in a
310 Nyman, 2008, p.9.
311 Von Weiler et al., 2010. See also §3.7 regarding the results of this study.
312 Taylor & Quayle, 2003, p.22; Nyman, 2008, p.37; Muir, 2005, p.41.
313 Taylor & Quayle, 2003, p.22.
314 Taylor et al., 2001, p.106.
315 Taylor et al., 2001, p.106.
316 Gunning et al., 2011, p.23.