Disclaimer: This is a Danish article that has been translated for easier access to English-speakers. The study discussed in this article was the basis for abolishing the ban on drawn pornographic content featuring fictional minors.
Content Warnings: Fictional "Child Pornography in Art," Psychology, Law
Original Tags: PORN PAEDOPHILIA COMICS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION KAREN HÆKKERUP LARS BARFOED SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
This article was written and published by journalist Nola Grace Gaardmand
Sexology clinic: Cartoon child pornography is not harmful
There is no scientific evidence to say that child pornography drawings cause more people to abuse children. This is stated by the Sexology Clinic in a report in response to the Social Democrats' proposal to ban the pornographic drawings. A ban can no longer be justified, says the culture spokesperson, who himself was involved in submitting the bill
INDIA
July 23, 2012
"People who have pedophilic tendencies are lured into this universe of images, and eventually it is no longer satisfying enough to look at these images. They want to do it themselves," said Karen Hækkerup (S), then spokesperson for justice and now Minister for Social Affairs, in April 2010, when the Social Democrats put forward a proposal to ban so-called fictitious child pornography - drawings and animations of children in sexually abusive situations.
But there is no scientific evidence to say that drawn child pornography is harmful, is the official conclusion of the Sexological Clinic in a report commissioned by the then Minister of Justice Lars Barfod (K) in connection with the Social Democrats' bill.
"We have found that to the best of our knowledge, there is no evidence that the consumption of fictitious images of child sexual abuse alone can lead people to commit sexual abuse of children," as the conclusion reads in the Sexological Clinic's letter to the Ministry of Justice.
Ellids Kristensen, Chief Physician and Head of the Danish Sexology Clinic at Rigshospitalet, who led the report, believes that in light of the study's findings, it would be highly inappropriate to ban the child pornography drawings.
"We must be careful that the fear of child abuse does not make society so restrictive that it affects a whole lot of people who are not at risk of abusing children. In my personal opinion, artistic freedom should be given more weight - because there is simply no evidence that these drawings are harmful," says Ellids Kristensen.
The proposal for a ban came in the wake of an article in Information describing how the child pornography drawings were illegal in both Norway and Sweden, and two weeks later the Social Democrats presented their bill, which sparked much debate.
On one side were the supporters of the bill, who argued that the cartoons were morally wrong and that they risked inciting potential abusers to commit child abuse.
The other side of the debate argued that it was problematic to restrict artistic freedom of expression without any scientific evidence that the cartoons have a harmful effect. And in the Danish Parliament, the proposal failed when a majority of the parties demanded an official statement from the Sexological Clinic before they would take a concrete position on a ban.
But there is no evidence that the drawings have any harmful effect, according to the official conclusion of the Sexology Clinic.
One of the proposal's biggest critics was Jacob Mchangama, chief lawyer at the liberal think tank Cepos, who today welcomes the conclusion of the Sexological Clinic: "It is gratifying that we have now been documented that, as far as we know, there is no connection between animated child pornography and actual violations, and that there is therefore of course no need to criminalize further in this area. But the whole process is a classic example of a politician seeing something, and then suddenly a headless symbolic legislation is made, without having properly studied the substance," says Jacob Mchangama.
Banned in Norway and Sweden
In the bill, the Social Democrats looked to neighboring countries as a model in this area and proposed an "actual ban on animated child pornography based on the Swedish model," as the bill put it. But since then, the situation in Sweden has changed significantly: in the fall of 2010, the first actual conviction in this area occurred when the Swedish translator of Japanese manga comics, Simon Lundström, was convicted of possessing child pornographic drawings that he had been hired to translate. He later appealed the case, first to the High Court, which upheld the conviction, but last month he was acquitted by the Swedish Supreme Court, which emphasized that "criminalizing the possession of the drawings would go far beyond what is necessary," according to the Swedish newspaper Expressen.
Minister for Social Affairs Karen Hækkerup does not wish to comment on the proposal as she is no longer spokesperson for justice. But the Social Democrats' culture spokesman Flemming Møller Mortensen, who himself was involved in the proposal to ban the cartoons, no longer believes that a ban can be justified in the light of the new information.
"It's good that the Sexology Clinic has looked into this. And so, as long as it cannot be proven that these drawings would lead to harmful behavior, I think we should protect freedom of expression and artistic freedom," says Flemming Møller Mortensen, who, however, states that as spokesman for culture, he cannot comment on the legal aspects or whether the Social Democrats are officially shelving the idea of a ban altogether. It has not been possible to speak with Ole Hækkerup, the spokesman on justice.