The government should reconsider plans to criminalise the possession of adult pornography, say Professor Clare McGlynn and Dr Erika Rackley
The Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill published on 26 June 2007 includes measures to create the new criminal offence of possessing “extreme pornography”, a term which includes necrophilia, bestiality and serious or life-threatening injury. While the government claims that the measures will simply close a gap in existing legislation, they are much more significant than that. They would create the first possession offence in respect of adult pornography anywhere in Europe. This may sound dramatic, but that’s because it is. Creating such an offence, thereby criminalising individuals sitting at home if they download certain materials, requires careful justification.
While we broadly support the measures, we have reservations about the nature of the justifications offered by the government and the absence of sufficient defences. Further, while the measures have been criticised for being over-broad, we are concerned that in respect of what we perceive to be the most harmful form of extreme pornography—rape sites promoting sexual violence—the measures are actually under-inclusive.
