Internet Child Porn Essay Example for Free

Internet Child Porn Essay According to UNICEF, the United States and Somalia are the only two countries that have not yet ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, Somalia currently has no legally recognized government and cannot ratify anything at all, leaving the United States as the only country that still does not agree with it. The Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography reports that Bill Clinton did not submit it to the Senate for deliberation and ratification. Perhaps he was too busy with Monica Lewinsky, and maybe the Republicans under Bush were too busy in airport restrooms like Senator Larry Craig. But perhaps Obama can do something about it. Child abuse through internet pornography is growing. In fact, the United States Department of Justice approximates one million children in the United States alone, who were victims of pornographers (Levesque 65). Indeed, tougher internet child-pornography regulations need to be enforced because it continues to be rampant, digital technology has made it easier to proliferate, and the graphic pornography is increasingly becoming more brutal. Internet child pornography is rampant and increasing. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) asserts that â€Å"approximately 20% of all internet pornography involves children. † It is a â€Å"growing crisis. † The Internet Watch Foundation also reports that since 1997, internet child pornography increased by approximately 1,500%. Furthermore, internet child pornography is growing because it generates high revenue. Roger Levesque, in Sexual Abuse of Children reports that child pornography is a multi-billion dollar business. It is also one of the fastest growing internet criminal segments (Ferraro, et al. ). The growth and high demand for it is fueled by addiction, just like illegal drugs. As Ryan Singel of Wired reports, â€Å"Internet pornography is the new crack cocaine, leading to addiction, misogyny, pedophilia, boob jobs and erectile dysfunction, according to clinicians and researchers testifying before a Senate committee Thursday. † Pedophiles are addicted to child pornography, which they use for personal sexual arousal, trading with fellow pedophiles, training for future child abuse victims, or inducement for child prostitution (Crosson-Tower 208). Consequently, the high demand for addictive internet child pornography increases child abuse cases. As, the Guardian reports, â€Å"Demand for child pornography on the internet has led to an increase in sex abuse cases. † It also adds, â€Å"many paedophiles acknowledged that exposure to child sex images fuelled their fantasies and played an important part in leading them to commit physical sexual offences against children. † Unsupervised children using the internet naively are â€Å"groomed for abuse while accessing chat rooms. If the victims take the bait, they become part of future pornographic productions. The increase in popularity of social-media internet sites such as MySpace has increased these chances, whereas in the past, kidnapping by total strangers made it more difficult for pedophiles to capture victims. Moreover, the Internet Watch Foundation through the Associated Press reports that â€Å"Child pornography on the Internet is becoming more brutal and graphic, and the number of images depicting violent abuse has risen fourfold since 2003. Marlise Simons of the New York Times also reports that â€Å"even babies and infants were peddled via the Internet and other media to clients in Europe, Russia and the United States. † Indeed, the Internet facilitates the distribution of child pornography. In the section Law Enforcement Efforts Against Child Pornography Are Ineffective of Philip Jenkin’s book At Issue: Child Sexual Abuse, he points out â€Å"overwhelming evidence† that child pornography â€Å"is all but impossible to obtain through nonelectronic means. The US Department of Justice also reports that because of the Internet’s â€Å"technological ease, lack of expense, and anonymity in obtaining and distributing child pornography,† it â€Å"has resulted in an explosion in the availability, accessibility, and volume of child pornography. † Furthermore, in 2001, â€Å"There are estimated to be one million pornographic images of children on the internet, many of them featuring children from third world countries being abused by affluent sex tourists from the west† (Wellard 26). UNICEF also reports that â€Å"a single child pornography site receives a million hits a month. † In order to receive that much Internet traffic, organized crime groups use sophisticated computer technology to evade detection. Pornographers can send viruses to unwitting Internet users without their knowledge to gain control of their computers, which can be transformed into file servers that can remotely store images and videos of child pornography for downloading later. This happened to Michael Fiola, an unsuspecting man in Massachusetts who was wrongfully charged for possessing child pornography. As Matthew Healey of the Associated Press reports, â€Å"Of all the sinister things that Internet viruses do, this might be the worst: They can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography. † After a virus infected Fiola’s laptop and downloaded heinous pictures and videos into his computer, his employer discovered it through the internet bill, and he â€Å"was fired and charged with possession of child pornography, which carries up to five years in prison. He endured death threats, his car tires were slashed and he was shunned by friends. † But he and his wife â€Å"fought the case, spending $250,000 on legal fees. They liquidated their savings, took a second mortgage and sold their car. † Eventually, charges were dropped after prosecutors confirmed the defense findings. â€Å"It ruined my life, my wifes life and my familys life,† says Fiola. These sophisticated techniques emanates from hidden internet levels, where 50,000 to 100,000 online organized pedophiles, one-third American, gather together, as asserted by Jenkins in his book Beyond Tolerance: Child Pornography Online. With the advent of web-cams and digital photography and video, even from cell phones, home-made child porn is now easy to produce. Peer-to-peer networking, wherein internet users can share files with each other instead of downloading it, along with the use of data encryption, file division and passwords, also makes any illegal porn difficult to detect, as reported by the Internet Watch Foundation. Truly, law enforcement is weak in battling child porn. As of 2008, the International Centre for Missing Exploited Children (ICMEC) reports that 93 out of 187 countries do not have child-porn-specific laws. And out of the 94 that do have anti-child-porn laws, 36 do not criminalize the possession of child pornography. And according to Interpol statistics, only 1% of child-porn abuse victims are located each year by law enforcers, as reported by Emily Friedman in ABC News. Furthermore, violators found with images of post-pubescent minors, even if it is illegal, are often not prosecuted (Wells, et al 277). Currently, China has the most effective method in the war against child pornography. Right now, the US uses highly inefficient methods. To mitigate its image as the porn search engine of the world, Google develops software to fight child porn. In 2008, Google adapted software for its search engine to track child porn that is available through its search engine, as reported by Maggie Shiels of BBC News. The FBI also posts hyperlinks on the World Wide Web that advertise child porn. Then they raid the homes of internet users who click on the links, as Declan McCullagh writes in CNet. Moreover, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPP), established in 2006, attempts to target the assets or finances of organized child-porn rings, as Jamie Doward from the Guardian reports. But China simply blocks all porn and American social-media sites from the Internet. China is known very well for its internet censorship and harsh penalties for drug trafficking. Drug use in the country is one of the lowest in the world. As Reuters reports in December 2009, â€Å"The Chinese government has run a highly publicized campaign against what officials said were banned smutty and lewd pictures overwhelming the countrys Internet and threatening the emotional health of children. They also add that â€Å"China has banned a number of popular websites and Internet services, including Googles Youtube, Twitter, Flickr and Facebook, as well as Chinese content sharing sites. † Jennifer Guevin of CNET also writes, â€Å"Google acknowledged last year that the Chinese government asked it to disable a search feature with the goal of censoring pornography. † In response to CNET’s report, Myles Taylor, a reader, commented, â€Å"I wish wed take some pages from their book and start cracking down on child pornographers, pedophiles and such. † In conclusion, law enforcement on child pornography is too weak and tougher regulations need to be implemented to combat this crisis. It would be very effective and simple if the US government were willing to simply block all porno and social-media-sharing sites from the Web, but the US First Amendment would prohibit that. However, unless US lawmakers do something drastic, such as revising the US Constitution, shoppers will continue to see the photographs of missing children on milk cartons, reminding them that their child could be the next victim of thousands of pedophiles simply waiting for the next opportunity.

Compare the predicament of women in society as described in Cousin Essa

Compare the predicament of women in society as described in Cousin Kate and The Seduction. How far do you sympathise with them? ‘The Seduction’ and ‘Cousin Kate’ are similarly concerned with the predicament of women in society. They are both poems which end up in a negative position, and are following the trails of a young girl, wanting to be loved, in some way. They also similarly carry the theme of betrayal. In ‘The Seduction’, the girl is betrayed by the teenage magazines promising her the romantic love story she always wanted and, in ‘Cousin Kate’, the young girl is betrayed by her cousin, who steals the man she loves. These are the predicaments that both the girls have. Both poems contain lines which question their actions, ‘Why did a great Lord find me out?’ and ‘For where, now, was the summer of her sixteenth year?’. This shows the regret that they had in that period in their lives, and also how betrayed they feel and the problems they have now of losing their childhood. ‘Cousin Kate’ tells us the story of how she was seduced, used and cast away, much like ‘The Seduction’. As ‘The Seduction’ begins, it uses a lot of imagery to prepare the reader for what may happen. ‘Far past the silver stream of traffic through the city, far from the blind windows of the tower blocks’. The ‘blind’ windows portrays an image of not seeing, and that because something ‘bad’ may happen, no-one is meant to see or hear anything. Also, when the poem refers to the girl knocking back the vodka, it shows an uncertain situation, ‘He handed her the vodka, and she knocked it back like water’. Both girls at the start of the poem are virgins but lose their virginity and fall pregnant. The girl in ‘Cousin Kate’, is refer... ...magazines she was reading to have sex, but there was probably pressure from her friends, as I know that there is today, and the poem was not written that far from today. Not only was there great pressure before she had sex, but the shame and feelings that she was put through from society was extreme, and this, in my opinion, should not have been placed upon her. Although similar things happened in ‘Cousin Kate’, I don’t think they did to the same extent, and, at the very least, the ‘Cottage Maiden’ was left with something to treasure and that she was proud of. Although abortions were not a regular occurrence, I still think she was in a better position to keep the baby. Whereas, in ‘The Seduction’, I think she would have been forced to have an abortion, or if she had kept the baby, she would have been under great emotion and also financial difficulties.

Assess the Contribution of Functionalism to Our Understanding of Families and Households

Contributing what they have to offer to families and households is something that functionalists seem to do in a variety of ways. Functionalism is a consensus theory (as stated in Item A). This means that it argues society is built on a consensus, or a general agreement amidst members on how society should be ordered and organised. They believe that family is one of the pivotal social institutions (which are parts in society involved in the socialisation process) along with mass media, education and peer group). Functionalism looks at the family functions and jobs that they perform.The functionalist George Murdock believes that the nuclear family is universal, therefore meaning that it’s found worldwide, and that is the best family type/institution for performing the 4 functions that functionalists believe are the foundations of successful families. Sexual function (Staying with one sexual partner and fulfilling their sex drive, this is beneficial as it avoids conflict. ) Econ omic function (administering food and shelter for members of your family, this is positive as it protects them and keeps them healthy). Reproductive function (Delivering the future generation, beneficial so that humans don’t die out).Educational function (Whereby you teach your offspring the norms and values in society this being profitable as your children will then be accepted into things such as education and will begin the education process of further things). A strength of Murdock’s effort implies how the nuclear family operates functions to benefit both the individuals and society. This means that it is positive for everyone, and has a gratifying effect on everyone. However a weakness would be that he also ignores that other families (such as step families, extended families etc. ).This means that he doesn’t take into account that they can also perform some of the functions. This is negative because it suggests that his ideas aren’t completely thoro ugh or fair. Talcott Parsons disputes that there is such thing as a ‘functional fit’ (the idea that the functions the family performs and the dominant type of family in a society are shaped by the needs of that society) between society and the family, and depending on the type of society the family is in, that has an effect on the shape the family takes (for example, what type the family is, nuclear, etc. ). So the family changes as society does.Parsons claims that the main type of family in pre-industrial society was the extended family, which is groups of people either related by marriage, blood, or adoption that’s outside the nuclear family; it can be extended vertically via grandparents etc. or horizontally (aunties, uncles, etc. ) However the main type of family in industrial society is the nuclear family (which is parents and children). Parson also believes that there is such thing as social mobility where your family can easily move around the class system ; however this can cause conflict, due to ascribed and achieved statuses your family.For example, a child gets a higher job than one of its parents (i. e. plumber and doctor). To prevent this conflict, the 2nd generation moves out to start their own nuclear family. Another mobility would be geographical mobility, whereby you can move around more easily due to the family only being small. Another thing Parson believes is that over time family has lost functions due to other social institutions, such as the education function, whereby before the kids would stay at home, and the parents would teach them things they thought were important (i. . mothers- daughters cooking etc. fathers- sons hunting). However the family still performs two functions:Primary socialisation, this is where you learn norms and values off your parents, and stabilisation of adult personalities, (aka the â€Å"warm bath theory) this is where the family is classed as a place to relax and de-stress after work. A st rength of Parson’s ideas is that it shows how the families change to meet the means and needs of society. This means that is can account for things such as how the families do change and patterns for the change.An example of what it backs up would be the organic analogy (the idea that social institutions are the organs to keep us going and that the people are the skin). This is positive because it gives us a deeper understanding on family. However a weakness of Parson’s beliefs would be that it only looks at the middle class, American families. This means you cannot generalize it to anyone out of those categories. It also is historically incorrect and thinks woman should be homemakers, yet men need to work.This is negative because again it isn’t as detailed and explained as it should be in order for us be able to accept it. Concluding, Parson’s and Murdock’s ideas suggest how the family functions and how it benefits society and family members, yet it ignores the negative aspects of family life such as child abuse or violence to men/women. There are also other conflicts between other ideas such as Marxists believing that the family only benefits the working class, and feminists believe that families only benefit men.

The Issue Of Social Contract Theory - 1814 Words

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On one side of the fence sits Thomas Hobbes who was the first modern philosopher to introduce such an idea regarding the relationship between the people and the state. Supporting the theory, he stated that if each individual is to feel secure within a society, there needs to be some form of legislation created by the state ensuring that this is the case. On the other side sits John Locke who, as an advocate of the state of nature, believes that a society in which the people act based on their personal morals and their natural rights will lead to the greatest level of liberty. I willShow MoreRelatedEssay about Social Contract Theory1429 Words   |  6 Pagesthe following pages I will show how modern social contract theory, especially that of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, grew into the divisive issue it is in contemporary political philosophy. I will do so by briefly unpacking the recent history of social contract theory and why it is a source of political divide today. 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