Images of Abuse – A review of the evidence on child pornography

Star rating: 4/5.

Emma Renold and Susan J. Creighton with Chris Atkinson and John
Carr, NSPCC ISBN 1-84228-030-9, £7-50.

Written as a formal report, this book draws together information
and research about children who are abused through pornography,
arguing very clearly that these are images of child sexual abuse –
shown to be both harmful in their production, and as an accessory
to subsequent sexual abusing, writes Andrew Durham.

Highlighting media hypocrisies, the ambiguities and inconsistencies
in legal debates, and the scale of the problem, the book reviews
comparative international legislation, and explains how it has
adapted to technological advances – most recently, the
internet.

This is a valuable and timely addition of knowledge to an area of
increasing public and professional concern.

Andrew Durham is the author of Young Men Surviving Child
Sexual Abuse, John Wiley, 2003.