The UN has published a new set of draft guidelines.
DRAFT Guidelines on the implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography
There are a few problems with it. Going in order the document gives (emphasis mine):
33. In preventing the sale and sexual exploitation of children, States parties should pay attention to root causes underlying these problems, such as harmful social norms, particularly with regard to complex notions related to masculinity and gender, which may contribute to perpetuating the problem, and which require specific awareness raising measures. An important aspect underlying these offences lies in the demand that exists, both among sex offenders and economic profiteers, of children for purposes of sexual exploitation and abuse.
We start with what is essentially "TOXIC MASCULINITY CAUSES PAEDOPHILIA". "Gender" would've been more than sufficient here, but they had to blame men at some point.
34. The Committee recommends States parties to take all necessary measures, with due attention to the gender dimension, to identify, support and monitor children at risk of falling victims of the offences covered by the OPSC, especially children in vulnerable situations such as migrant and refugee children, children in street situations, child domestic workers, LGBTI children, children in alternative care and children deprived of liberty, children from economically vulnerable families and children experiencing social exclusion or isolation, and to strengthen prevention programmes and the protection of potential victims.
I feel like "LGBTI children" should be considered child abuse in itself. Also arguing against sexual exploitation of children while also applying sexual orientations to those children sends some mixed messages.
That's not the important stuff though. This is:
56. Child pornography is defined in article 2 OPSC as “any representation of a child engaged in real or simulated explicit sexual activities, regardless of the means used, or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes”. The qualification “by whatever means” reflects the broad range of material available in a variety of media, online and offline. It includes, inter alia: visual material such as photographs, movies, drawings and cartoons; audio representations; any digital media representation; live performances; written materials in print or online; and physical objects such as sculptures, toys, or ornaments.
Drawings, cartoons, audio (does ageplay count?), stories, and figurines of fictional children are all illegal under the U.N. proposal.
Maybe they didn't mean to ban fictional characters, maybe they only meant drawings etc. of real children.
57. The Committee urges States parties to prohibit, by law, child sexual abuse material in any form. The Committee notes that such material is increasingly circulating online, and strongly recommends States parties to ensure that relevant provisions of their Criminal Codes cover all forms of material, including when the acts listed in article 3.1(c) are committed online and including when such material represents realistic representations of non-existing children.
Oh never mind, they
explicitly state it applies to non-existing children too.
Even when
no actual child is involved, the UN insist that such material be made a prisonable offence.
Under these guidelines I'd be prosecuted for making an inappropriate joke about Fangmei.
But why are they doing this?
58. The Committee is of the view that “simulated explicit sexual activities” should be interpreted as including any material, online or offline, that depicts or otherwise represents any person appearing to be a child engaged in real or simulated sexually explicit conduct and realistic and/or virtual depictions of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Such depictions contribute to normalising the sexualisation of children and fuels the demand of child sexual abuse material.
It contributes to the normalising the sexualisation of children. Just like beating up that feminist in RDR2 normalises violence against women, and playing GTA makes you a school shooter!
I have a question for everyone else: are you capable of distinguishing between fiction and reality? Because these guidelines make perfect sense for someone who can't. Maybe I have a superpower that gives me the ability to know that my saying "I pick up a bottle and take a drink" doesn't actually quench my thirst.
No wonder nobody takes the UN seriously.
