Not so pretty pictures.

There are two lines of argument as to why possession of images of child pornography should be illegal. The first is that if there were no market for them, such images would not be made, and that therefore the person who views them is indirectly responsible for their creation and the inevitable child abuse which goes along with it. Although slightly simplistic, this argument is basically sound. The second argument however is that those who view such images are ipso facto a danger to children, and that one, it seems to me, is far from clear. After all, I am not aware of any suggestion that those who view what might be termed "straight" pornography pose, as a result, any particular danger to the opposite sex. Indeed there is a school of thought which says that viewing pornography may act as a safety valve for those who might otherwise be inclined to physical acts of sexual abuse. So why should those whose sexual predilection is for children be any different? Is this a simple case of demonising that which we find distasteful?