CHENNAI: Reacting to the recent ruling of the Madras High Court quashing the case of a man who had downloaded and watched pornography involving children, NGO Tulir - Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse said it is important to understand that every click made to download, view, browse, seek, transmit or distribute child sexual abuse material (CSAM) re-victimises the child or simulated child, in that material.
“Several studies carried out over the past three decades have shown that repeated viewing of CSAM more often than not moves from an online space to offline offending. It also tends to help rationalise the notion of children being considered sexually gratifying while being exploited,” the organisation said in a statement.
There is also a vast difference between the material of children being sexually abused (CSAM) and children watching pornography (adult content). Semantics of the terminology was deliberately changed to CSAM to reflect the gravity of viewing as opposed to the term child pornography which is mistakenly thought to be just children viewing pornography, it added.