Review by Choice Review
Written by two criminal justice and science experts, this book offers an in-depth study rich in statistical evidence on Internet child pornography (ICP), encompassing various regions including Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. Although the authors do not extensively address the recent rising concerns about sexting or production, possession, and distribution of child pornographic images by adolescents, they discuss more traditional ICP such as e-mails and websites. The book argues that a "dispassionate analysis" and not "myths and moral assumptions" is the key to addressing this social problem. Although the Internet has revealed hidden sexual desires of some, Wortley (Univ. College London) and Smallbone (Griffith Univ., Australia) suggest that the stereotypical images of ICP users do not fit most offenders. They also claim that current legal and justice systems are reactionary to a committed crime, whereas prevention is more effective in curtailing the number of incidents and victims. The book's extensive references and statistics are useful for both researchers and practitioners. Its background sections elaborating on the history of child pornography both online and offline and the demographics of offenders and victims are helpful to undergraduate students. Summing Up: Recommended. All academic levels/libraries. Y. Kiuchi Michigan State University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
