CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

STUDENT CENTRIC ACTIVITIES - 3

LAW-228

“CHILD PORNOGRAPHY”

Submitted by Shivansh Sood

Section L 1902

Roll no. A18

Registration no. 11917221

Course BBA.LLB (Hons.)

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1. DECLARATION

2. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

3. LIST OF CASES

4. TITLE

5. INTRODUCTION

6. MEANING/DEFINITION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

7. AIM & OBJECTIVE

8. RESEARCH METHODOLGY &PROBLEM

9. SCOPE

10.HYPOTHESIS

11.THE LASTING EFFECTS OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

12.INDIA’S LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE

❖ POCSO ACT,2012

❖ IT ACT,2000

13.JUDICIAL APPROACH

14.SUGGESTION & RECOMMENDATION

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STUDENT DECLARATION

I hereby announce that the BBA.LLB (Hons.) project entitled "Child Pornography" has been
carried out by me as a Bachelor of Law. The interpretations put forward are based on my
reading and understanding of the original texts and are not published anywhere in the form of
books or articles. The other books, articles and websites that I have used are recognized at the
respective place in the text.
For the present project, which we are presenting to the School of Law, Lovely Professional
University, Phagwara, no degree has been submitted elsewhere.

PHAGWARA SHIVANSH SOOD

Date: …. /…./…..

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the planning of our project, I had to take the support and guidance
of some trusted people who deserve my deepest gratitude. I would also
like to extend my gratitude to all those who have directly and indirectly
guided me in writing on this assignment.

Many people, particularly my friends and seniors, have made helpful

comments, suggestions on our paper that have encouraged us to improve
the quality of the assignment.

The main motive behind preparing this project is not only marks but also
for gaining knowledge...

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LIST OF CASES

1) State of A.P. v. Mangali Yadagiri1

2) Shashi and Ors. v. The State of Karnataka2

3) Ishan v. State of M. P3

1
Crl.Revision Case No. 1596 of 2014
2
CRL.P.No.100938/2018
3
Criminal Revision No. 1112/2014 ISHAN v. STATE OF M.P.

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CHILD
PORNOGRAPHY

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Abstract
Child pornography is not always seen as an example of dangerous
talk, but as a type of sexual abuse of children. However, although
the law was originally intended to protect children, it has
increasingly drifted away from that goal, and it now appears to
include content that is not harmful.

CHAPTER-1

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Children in the contemporary era are exposed to the most high-tech globalized world which
influences them and take those children to the new heights of intellect, modernity and maturity.
Their mental as well as their social development starts to form from a very young age. They
are exposed to every kind of good and bad through social media, television, radio, etc.
The present information technology resources contain extremely worthy and
knowledgeable material, but at the same time it also contains very dangerous and contiguous
material.

Since a child has a feeble and vulnerable mind, sometimes it is difficult for the child to restrain
from the negativities of the modern information technology and social media. They easily get
attracted to the bliss of knowing things from an early age, to be social with different people
and making friends. They get acquainted with a lot of people whom they don’t know or barely
know. They enter into the adult chat rooms and because of the growing age they enjoy the
ecstasy of chatting with an adult or virtually connecting with them. They hardly know
the person on the other side of the chat room.4

Many times, children these days are befriended with people who are very shady or who seek
the social media and internet to pursue their own ulterior motives.

4
Available at https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/child-pornography last visited on 10-04-2021.

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There are drug rackets, prostitution rackets, porn sites, hackers etc. on the internet. Often the
young kids come into contact with particularly criminal minded people who with their cheesy
talks lures such kids to act as per their whims and fancies. The world of internet and social
media appeals the child a lot and because of his/her young mind he/she does not give a second
thought on the dark side of that world.

Sometimes they are lured or sometimes because of a certain weak point they are blackmailed
or many times their loneliness, working schedule of parents, neglect by parents and an unruly
exposure to the internet makes such children easily accessible to the perpetrators of child abuse,
child trafficking, child pornography and other kinds of crime against children.

There are various forms of child abuse among which child pornography is directly related to
the contemporary digital age. Child pornography is material “that visually depicts sexual
conduct below a specified age”. It is not only pedophiles who indulge in such heinous and
abhorrent nature of crimes. The porn industry has become very lucrative these days. It runs
across the globe in a highly organized manner. It is a multimillion-dollar industry and young
kids become the most unfortunate victims of this dark world.

There are videos uploaded on the internet which depict young girls in school uniform
performing sexual acts or there are online games or video games where there are levels in which
young kids are abused. Sometimes an enraged or spurned boyfriend or girlfriend immediately
turns to the internet and social media to take revenge from the counterpart. At times, there are
even advertisements for safe sex or use of condoms which depict young girls and boys. Peer
pressure is also a cause of child pornography. Young children and their friends involve in sex
texting which means the practice of sending and receiving sexual images on a mobile phone.
They upload explicit and obscene photos, messages and videos in their peer group which is
ultimately and easily accessible to the perpetrators of child pornography because of the
cyberspace. Young kids also upload obscene pictures of their friends so as to bully them. As a
result, the victims of such abuse sometimes commit suicide.5

5
Available at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229646969_Child_Pornography_An_Internet_Crime
last visited on 10-04-2021.

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Children today know much more than their age. Be it the in-metro cities or the rural area, they
can access the internet and social media through their phones. They come in contact with people
who seek young children so as to lure them to the porn and trafficking industry. Their young
minds and developing hormones lead them to the high curiosity levels where sometimes they
get trapped in the clutches of child traffickers, child pornographers, drug peddlers and other
sorts of organized crimes.

1.2MEANING / DEFINITION OF CHILD PORNOGHRAPHY6

The word “pornography” comes from the Greek “pornographos” literally meaning writing
about prostitutes. One of the commonly accepted definitions of “pornography” in modern times
defines it as sexually explicit material (verbal or pictorial) i.e. primarily designed to produce
sexual arousal in viewers. When value judgments are attached to this definition, pornography
is perceived as sexually explicit material designed to produce sexual arousal in consumers that
is bad in a certain way.

Child pornography is publishing and transmitting obscene material of children in

electronic form. In recent years child pornography has increased due to the easy access of the
internet and easily available videos on the internet. Child pornography is the most heinous
crime which occurs and has led to various other crimes such as sex tourism, sexual abuse of
the child etc.

Child pornography is any kind of representation of sexually explicit or obscene images of

a minor under 18 years old. The Oxford Dictionary defines Pornography as “printed or visual
material containing explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity intended to
stimulate sexual excitement”. Further, the Law Lexicon defines Pornography as “material that
depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement.”

6
Available at https://www.jamescrawfordlaw.com/blog/legal-definition-child-pornography-consequences last
visited on 11-04-2021.
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• Child pornography may include actual or simulated sexual intercourse involving

minors, deviant sexual acts, bestiality, masturbation, sado-masochistic abuse, or the
exhibition of genitals in a sexually arousing fashion.

a) Child pornography is defined by the Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child
prostitution and Child pornography as any representation of a child engaged in real or
simulated explicit sexual activities or of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual
purposes.

b) Child pornography is the evidence of the sexual abuse of a child and the production of child
pornography always presupposes a crime committed towards the child.

c) Child pornography objectifies and degrades children.

d) Child pornography may be used by abusers as a means to manipulate a child by claiming

that what is happening to the child in the picture is something that many children take part
in. (Linked to the 'Grooming Process’)7

e) Child pornography can lower the potential perpetrator’s inhibitions and allows the offender
to minimize and distort abusive behavior. The perpetrator may use it as a justification of
his abusive behavior.

7
The Grooming Process is the strategy used by sexual abusers to manipulate the child, and potentially protective
adults, so the abuse can take place in a situation where the abuser has total control over the victim. It is a process
where the abuser gradually overcomes the child's resistance through a sequence of psychologically manipulative
acts. It is also used to silence the child after the abuse has taken place.
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CHAPTER-2

2.1 AIMS & OBJECTIVE

a) To focus and know about Child Pornography.

b) To examine the legal framework and different perceptions on Child Pornography.
c) To suggest some measures to be taken in the existing penal laws.

2.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research is Doctrinal in nature. The researcher used secondary sources of data such as
case study, books, websites etc.

2.3 RESEARCH PROBLEM

Researchers wants to focus on term “Child Pornography”. The purpose of this study is to
analyse child pornography and laws relating to it.

2.4 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

The scope of my research tells about the child pornography, its impact on victims, and
sociolegal theories supporting with the case laws and judgement.

2.5 HYPOTHESIS

a) Child Pornography is a crime.

b) It leaves long lasting effects on the victims.
c) Curtailing child pornography is a challenging task.

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CHAPTER-3

3.1 THE LASTING EFFECTS OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY8

Children used in child pornography are victims of sexual abuse, which, can have psychological,
emotional, and physical effects on a survivor. These are inescapable repercussions which
include general symptoms of depression, flashbacks, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, sexual abuse can lead to other results including self-harm, sexually transmitted
infections (STIs), substance abuse, dissociation, eating disorders, pregnancy, sleep disorders,
and suicide, among others. Experiencing sexual abuse is not something any child would choose
for themselves, yet they are forced to cope with unavoidable symptoms from the trauma they
endured.

You would think that getting a child out of the sexual abuse cycle of child pornography would
stop victimization, but that is unfortunately not the case. This cycle immortalizes the abuse
suffered by children. Child pornography images are permanent and available through almost
every internet platform including:

• Social networking websites

• File-sharing sites

• Photo-sharing sites

• Gaming devices

• Mobile apps

Ultimately, this leaves the child with a lifetime of re-victimization through knowing their abuse
will always be on the internet for anyone to see. As a result, they feel helpless, afraid,
humiliated, and like they have no control over their images of abuse. This psychological
damage encompasses disruptions in sexual development, self-image, and developing trusting
relationships in the future. These children live with pain and suffering because paedophiles
took advantage of them.

8
Available at https://www.apa.org/monitor/apr01/jn last visited on 12-04-2021.
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CHAPTER-4

4.1 INDIA’S LEGISLATIVE RESPONSE TO CHILD PORNOGRAPHY9

The rapid growth of internet and technology has resulted in the rise and availability of child
pornography in India. In the light of these technological advancements and otherwise, the
Indian Government has enacted various reforms to strengthen the legal frameworks. India had
blocked around 857 pornographic websites in 2015 because of the concerns about child
pornography. This particular decision was taken under the Information Technology Act and in
consonance with Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India that allows the Government to
impose restrictions on the grounds of decency and morality. However, this complete ban was
later lifted and only implemented to those websites containing child porn. This part shall
explore the current state of laws with respect to child pornography in India.

4.2 POCSO ACT, 201210

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) is the main legislation
that deals with child sexual abuse in general which includes offences of sexual assault, sexual
harassment and pornography. Chapter III specifically makes the use of a child in any form of
media for the purpose of sexual gratification an offence. The Act covers the offences of
preparation, production, offering, transmitting, publishing, facilitation and distribution of the
pornographic material. The overall aim of the POCSO Act is the protection of children from
sexual exploitation and degradation, as child pornography can be considered as one of the
extreme forms of exploitation of children. There is no legal definition available of the term
child pornography. Moreover, it is to be noted that prior to the POCSO Act there is no specific
mention of the term’s ‘child’ and ‘pornography’ within a single legislation. The Act defines a
child as any person below the age of 18 years and provides protection to them. On the other
hand, child pornography includes representation of sexual organs of a child, usage of child
engaged in sexual acts and indecent and obscene representation of child through any program

9
Available at https://blog.ipleaders.in/child-pornography-reasons-impact-and-regulation/ last visited on 12-
04-2021.
10
ibid
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or advertisement in television channels or the internet. The Act punishes the use of child for
pornographic purposes with an imprisonment of five years and/or fine. Moreover, in the event
of any subsequent conviction may result in an imprisonment of not less than ten years or may
extend to life imprisonment and shall also be liable for a fine. In order to grant extreme level
of protection, the Act also punishes the storage of pornographic material involving a child for
commercial purposes with an imprisonment of three years and/or fine.

The Parliament of India passed an amendment to the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act, 2012, in August 2019.11

The new bill aims to improve the punishment of minors for sexual crimes, including a death
sentence. To counter child pornography, the Bill provides that those who are using a child for
sexual purposes will be prosecuted with up to five years imprisonment and fine. However, the
punishment would be up to seven years and fine in the event of a second or subsequent
conviction.

The Bill defines child pornography as any visual representation of sexually explicit behaviour
involving a child, including photographs, video, digital or computer-generated images that
cannot be distinguished from a child. According to the Amendment Bill, those who commit
penetrative sexual assaults against a child under the age of 16 would be punished with
imprisonment for up to 20 years, which may be extended to imprisonment for a lifetime.

4.3 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 200012

The Information Technology Act of 2000 punishes the publishing or transmission of any
obscene material in electronic form. The earlier Act did not have any specialised provisions
regarding child pornography; all the instances of pornography were treated under Section 67
of the earlier Act. Though, it is important to note that the IT Act, 2000 was an important step
forward from the earlier legislations. Earlier all the instances of pornography whether online

11
Available at https://www.financialexpress.com/ last visited on 13-04-2021.
12
Available at http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-836-cyber-law-in-india-it-act-2000.html last
visited on 13-04-2021.
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or not were treated under the Indian Penal Code 1860 and the Indecent Representation of
Women (Prohibition) Act 1986.

The transmission or publishing of obscene material is punishable by imprisonment of two

years and five which may extend up to five Lakhs rupees and any subsequent conviction by
an imprisonment of five years and fine which may extend up to ten lakhs rupees.

The subsequent amendment to the 2000 Act in 2008 specifically punishes child
pornography. The Act of publishing or transmitting material depicting children in sexually
explicit act is punishable. Moreover, it also punishes browsing, collection, distribution, and
creation of any sexually explicit material containing children. Inducing online relationship with
children, facilitating child abuse online and recording sexual abuse of children in electronic
form is a punishable offence. The Act provides for a punishment with an imprisonment of five
years and a fine up to five lakhs rupees and the second conviction is punishable with an
imprisonment of seven years and a fine up to ten lakhs rupees. The offence made under the Act
is non-bailable and cognizable.

Section 67C imposes liability on intermediaries for the retention and production of
information.

Section 79 was also amended; it specifies the condition sunder which liability will not be
imposed on intermediaries.

Even after having such elaborate legal provisions punishing child pornography,
curtailing child pornography is a challenging task. The present technology is not so
developed to churn out child pornography from the wide area of pornography. As the matter
of Pornography has to be seen in consonance of Right to freedom of Expression it a task to
differentiate them on the digital media. Though the legislation has been made under the
different statutes but the basic problem of implementation is a serious issue as in the physical
world the implementation can be possible due to stricter approach by the government but as
for the digital sphere the government seems to have a little bit of concern and even these
institutions who are accorded with the duty to do so are not even funded properly, so in
actually to curb the problem a serious approach is required.

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CHAPTER-5

5.1 JUDICIAL APPROACHES TOWARDS THE PROBLEM

Though the laws have been made by the legislation but still the implementation of the same is
to be looked by suspicious eyes. As for example Section 15 of the POCSO act 2012 which
deals with storage of pornographic material involving a child for commercial purposes has not
been registered any case in High Court or Supreme Court till now. So, the implementation or
the authorities dealing with the issue seems to be little ineffective in its work. Judiciary has
tried to sort the problem related to the Child Pornography whenever the matter related to it has
surfaced with strict approach as the availability of evidence in these cases are abundant but the
real issue lies in actual coming out of the matter related to it. Most of the place’s person tends
to avoid the issue. There a very few judgements at the level of High Court and the Supreme
Court dealing with the matter. Some of them are discussed below.

5.2 CASE LAWS

1) In the case of State of A.P. v. Mangali Yadagiri13 matter was in High Court of
Hyderabad where a SC/ST girl of 14 years was raped by few persons and then pictures
were taken. She was even threatened that if she comes out then the perpetrators said
that they would make it public so she was hindered from complaining for some time.
Here the matter was referenced to the High Court that the case shall be tried in POCSO
special court or SC/ST Court, here the court made that it shall be tried in the POCSO
Special Court.

2) In the case of Shashi and Ors. v. The State of Karnataka14 where the facts
are that some friends of victim’s father came to their house and then asked victim to

13
Crl.Revision Case No. 1596 of 2014

14
CRL.P.No.100938/2018

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collect firewood from the Jungle where afterwards the perpetrators went and raped her
and also made video of the preposterous act. They were charged under POSCO and IT
Act and the matter was made but the High Court of Karnataka granted them with bail
and the final order is still awaited.

3) In the case of Ishan v. State of M. P15 the facts were that the victim went to her
friend house and there the friend brother dragged her raped her and made a video of
her. The incident was narrated by her to her parents to whom the case was filed. Here
as the perpetrator was a juvenile so the matter went to JJB and later the revision petition
was filed in the High Court of M.P. where the accused was released on bail.

15
Criminal Revision No. 1112/2014 ISHAN v. STATE OF M.P.
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CHAPTER-6

6.1 CONCLUSION

The legal and procedural barriers to protecting the interests of children on the Internet are
vexing. Definitional difficulties as well as different cultural and social mores create difficulties
in relation to devising an effective international framework for protecting children online. The
problems are further compounded by different approaches that have been adopted in relation
to issues involving the exertion of criminal jurisdiction over activities conducted via the
medium of the Internet, extradition and the obtaining of evidence.

The lack of a consistent and harmonious framework on privacy, content regulation and
pornography also act as major obstacles to affecting a workable international strategy to protect
the interests of children on the Internet. However, as the discussion also seeks to show, the
difficulties are not insurmountable. What is ultimately important, at the end of the day, is that
there must be a determination on the part of all countries to protect children so that an effective
legal regime can then be devised.16 With a degree of judicial ingenuity in adopting a broad
reading of existing offence-creating provisions in existing criminal statutes, timely legislative
intervention to fill in the loopholes and a fair degree of concerted global co-operation in the
field, much can be done in the ongoing battle to protect children. It is perhaps apt to end the
discussion by reproducing a quote that cuts to the chase and helps put the issues in perspective:

“The children's life is far more important than those sorts of relatively minor concerns about
civil liberties and entrapment. Those are important questions, but set them against a child's life,
a child's psychological well-being, and frankly there's only one possible answer.”

Over the recent years, various research regarding the status of child pornography legislation
around the world has demonstrated that slow and steady progress is being made. Various
international legal instruments are in place, which have helped raise awareness and attach new

16
Available at https://blog.ipleaders.in/ last visited on 13-04-2021.
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urgency to this cause. It remains clear, however, that more countries need to take action now if
we are to secure a safer future for the world’s children. While combating child pornography at
home and abroad is a daunting task, harmonization of laws is essential in order to effectively
address this growing, international phenomenon.

In the end, therefore, it can be said that the menace of child pornography must be stopped so
as to protect the young kids from entering and being trapped into the world of voyeurism,
trafficking, prostitution, in short, the filthy and dirty world.

6.2 RECOMMENDATION

There must be a check on their activities by the parents while using net. They must also be
made aware of the pros and cons of the high-tech modern world and social media.17 Lastly, I
would like to conclude with the suggestions recently made by the Hon’ble Court in a decided
matter:

❖ Parents and family members should interact with children regularly creating awareness
about safety and abuses including sexual abuses being inflicted on them and how to avoid
and to raise alarm in case of any attempt to abuse.

❖ The parents should interact regularly with the children so that if any abuse is made which
can be found out even if the child does not voluntarily report.

❖ School authorities should create awareness about the child abuses. If any behavioral change
in the student is noted the same should be brought to the notice of the parents and enquire
the child in a conducive atmosphere to find out any abuse has been inflicted.

17
Available at https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/05/milind-rajratnam-combating-child-pornography/
last visited on 14-04-2021.
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❖ Media should also play active role in educating and sensitizing the society about child
abuses and sex offences by giving required publicity about the existing laws against sexual
offences especially child sexual offences.

❖ People should be educated to note the behavioral changes of the children and find out the
reasons for abuses to save the child from trauma which may be prolonged.

❖ The investigating agencies should coordinate with NGOs, who are working for the welfare
of children and prevention of child abuse by foreign nationals.

❖ There should be efforts by all to revive the disintegrated joint family system for more
benefits including safety of children.

❖ Children should be taught to be careful with the strangers.

………………………………………………………………………

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