Understanding the phenomenon of child pornography

Abstract

A considerable number of helpless children, all around the world, are continually being sexually exploited and violated. However, unlike popular belief, such sexual abuse does not necessarily mean physical and sexual interaction, but can also be brought upon through a virtual medium. As a result, the matter of child pornography is somewhat unrecognised in terms of the impeccable and genuinely devastating effects that it leaves the children it haunts. Thus, the motivation behind this research project was to investigate, understand, and evaluate the current legislative state of the Maltese islands concerning child pornography to raise the awareness that this problem truly needs. Moreover, by adopting a desk-based research approach, the evolution of the Maltese legislation was thoroughly analysed and in turn, also heavily contrasted against those of three selected European Union members: Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. In addition to this, in an attempt to understand the local sentencing behaviour, several Maltese legal cases across a period of ten years (2008 - 2018) were analysed. This research contributed to various observations, such as the high offender male dominance, sentencing disparities between magistrates, a high majority of boy victims, and the transition from favouring suspended sentences to prison sentences as penalties. In conclusion, this research project notes that although significant progress was made to the Maltese laws, there still is room for improvement. When compared to the other three countries, the Maltese legislation seems to be on the weaker side, suggesting that different measures should be implemented to harden and strengthen the sentencing and respective penalties.