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Let's talk about the Luxembourg Guidelines, a major 2016 document intended to build consensus on key concepts related to child sexual abuse. But a consensus among whom? Let's look at who was included and who wasn't, and how the document reflects this. http://luxembourgguidelines.org/ 1/10
Although a variety of United Nations agencies were included, lead authorship of the Guidelines was by @ECPAT. This anti-trafficking organization has a mixed record. Its U.S. chapter used fishy statistics in pushing the anti-sex worker law, #FOSTA. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/09/02/the-fishy-claim-that-100000-children-in-the-united-states-are-in-the-sex-trade/ … 2/10
No sex worker representatives were involved in drafting the Guidelines, which takes a hard line against minors in sex work (good!) but also uses pejorative language drawn from abolitionist discourse, such as "sexual commodification and objectification" (not so good!). 3/10
No representative from artistic or fan communities were involved either, hence the guidelines assert that hand drawn pictures such as anime and manga, and even "written story lines," are "child sexual abuse material." We'll have more to say about this for #BannedBooksWeek. 4/10
Another thing the Guidelines did was to deprecate the use of the term "child pornography" in favor of "child sexual abuse material," but as we have pointed out, the latter is not the right term to describe selfies sent between teenage partners. https://prost.asia/blog/child-protection-and-the-limits-of-censorship/ … 5/10
Kinksters were not consulted either, hence "young adults [who] are recorded or photographed in child-like poses, staged with props to reinforce the impression of youth" are stigmatized as being producers of child sexual abuse material. We will be blogging on ageplay soon. 6/10
The Guidelines assert that this "fuels very real fantasies, encourages the propensity of sexual predators, and … creates a culture of tolerance for the sexualisation of children." Based on what evidence? None, because mental health professionals weren't included either. 7/10
While pointing out that any minor engaged in sex work is being abused by definition (good!) the Guidelines also eliminate any language that can be used to meaningfully describe how the minor got into that situation, unless they were trafficked by an adult (not so good!). 8/10
For example, a founding member of our Board who was abused in sex work as a minor, was self-engaged, not trafficked. Although this circumstance is relevant in helping those like her to avoid or escape this situation, the Guidelines don't permit the use of such a term. 9/10
To sum up, the Guidelines were well-intended and are useful in many aspects. But they also promote a kind of newspeak that doesn't reflect the reality of the many stakeholders excluded from the process. To create a meaningful consensus requires a more inclusive approach. 10/10
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