Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India
Introduction: The association between pornography and sexual crime is controversial, with various researchers finding positive, no, or negative associations. Recent evidence suggests that there may be a specific association between child pornography, which is easily available on the Internet, and se...
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Academy Publisher
2015-07-01
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| Series: | Open Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | http://dysphrenia.hpage.co.in/112-116-fulltext_7772078.html |
| _version_ | 1828517392364339200 |
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| author | Subahani Shaik Ravi Philip Rajkumar |
| author_facet | Subahani Shaik Ravi Philip Rajkumar |
| author_sort | Subahani Shaik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Introduction: The association between pornography and sexual crime is controversial, with various researchers finding positive, no, or negative associations. Recent evidence suggests that there may be a specific association between child pornography, which is easily available on the Internet, and sexual offences against children.
Methods: Using methodology similar to an earlier study from India, we obtained official statistics on sexual offences against children, namely rape and procurement of minor girls, for the period 2000-2012 from the National Crime Records Bureau. We analysed the association between the rates of these crimes and Internet access, measured by the number of users per 1,00,000 people.
Results: Even after correcting for population growth, we found significant linear associations between Internet availability and the rates of both these offences against children. However, there was no correlation between the growth rate of Internet access and the rate of increase of these crimes.
Discussion: While the association between pornography and the rape of adults is still under debate, our results provide indirect evidence of a possible association between Internet availability and sexual crimes against children. Regulation of the Internet to suppress access to child pornography may prevent at least some of these crimes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T18:39:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7ee35505f2c54848a5c9ada192ca4be4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2394-2053 2394-2061 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T18:39:48Z |
| publishDate | 2015-07-01 |
| publisher | Academy Publisher |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Open Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-7ee35505f2c54848a5c9ada192ca4be42022-12-22T00:54:38ZengAcademy PublisherOpen Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences2394-20532394-20612015-07-0162112116Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from IndiaSubahani Shaik0Ravi Philip Rajkumar1Junior Resident, Department of Psychiatry, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry – 605006, IndiaAssociate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Consultant, Marital and Psychosexual Disorders Clinic, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry – 605006, IndiaIntroduction: The association between pornography and sexual crime is controversial, with various researchers finding positive, no, or negative associations. Recent evidence suggests that there may be a specific association between child pornography, which is easily available on the Internet, and sexual offences against children. Methods: Using methodology similar to an earlier study from India, we obtained official statistics on sexual offences against children, namely rape and procurement of minor girls, for the period 2000-2012 from the National Crime Records Bureau. We analysed the association between the rates of these crimes and Internet access, measured by the number of users per 1,00,000 people. Results: Even after correcting for population growth, we found significant linear associations between Internet availability and the rates of both these offences against children. However, there was no correlation between the growth rate of Internet access and the rate of increase of these crimes. Discussion: While the association between pornography and the rape of adults is still under debate, our results provide indirect evidence of a possible association between Internet availability and sexual crimes against children. Regulation of the Internet to suppress access to child pornography may prevent at least some of these crimes.http://dysphrenia.hpage.co.in/112-116-fulltext_7772078.htmlPornographyParaphiliasRape |
| spellingShingle | Subahani Shaik Ravi Philip Rajkumar Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India Open Journal of Psychiatry and Allied Sciences Pornography Paraphilias Rape |
| title | Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India |
| title_full | Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India |
| title_fullStr | Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India |
| title_short | Internet access and sexual offences against children: an analysis of crime bureau statistics from India |
| title_sort | internet access and sexual offences against children an analysis of crime bureau statistics from india |
| topic | Pornography Paraphilias Rape |
| url | http://dysphrenia.hpage.co.in/112-116-fulltext_7772078.html |
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