Description
Book SynopsisSuzanne Ost critically examines how society and law have responded to child pornography and sexual grooming, exploring the way in which the harms of child pornography and grooming are perceived and suggesting that the legal and societal reactions to these problems need to be more rational and considered.
Trade Review'… uniquely well-informed … consistently deep coverage … she raises some uncomfortingly convincing arguments …' Family Law
'Ost puts forward a new approach to tackle the harms of child pornography and sexual grooming rationally and effectively. … a decidedly valuable contribution to the literature and debates on sex offending against children … It is the first British book to provide a balanced perspective by going beyond purely legalistic discourses … providing a detailed theoretical and critical account … readable and accessible … perhaps the greatest strength and contribution of this book are its important message …' British Journal of Criminology
'Suzanne Ost … pushes her materials in new directions to argue that we should be less concerned with child sexual abuse and also consider the various other ways that children are exploited. … Crucial in all of this is her contention that we need to abandon the dominant social construct of childhood vulnerability and, instead, empower children to let them explain how childhood should be understood and experienced. … Ost … was … able … to open up the space that we call 'childhood' and how that construction exploits children whether we are considering Norway or England.' The Howard Journal
'This book is a timely, rational antidote to the sex panic urging people to remove the naked body of a child from art galleries, photo albums, and the beach.' Dany Lacombe, Simon Fraser University
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Constructions, themes and critical tensions; 1. The modern day phenomena of child pornography and sexual grooming; 2. Criminalizing child pornography and behaviour related to sexual grooming; 3. Matters of harm and exploitation; 4. Moral panics and the impact of the construction of childhood innocence; 5. The law elsewhere and questions of individual rights; 6. Conclusions and implications; Appendix A. Details of dates of interviews with police officers.
