Consultation on Possession of Non-photographic Visual Depictions of Child Sexual Abuse
The joint consultation between the Scottish Government (the then Scottish Executive), the Ministry of Justice (formerly the Home Office) and the Northern Ireland Office on the Possession of Non-Photographic Visual Depictions of Child Sexual Abuse is closed.
The purpose of the consultation was to consider the issues raised by computer generated images, animated images, cartoon drawings, and other visual material depicting the sexual abuse of children not covered elsewhere by statute and to examine any shortcomings in the current criminal law and how they should be addressed. The consultation also sought views on a proposal to create a new offence of possession of these images of child sexual abuse.
Evidence from police and children's organisations is that the availability of such images is growing and technology has advanced to the stage where photographs of real children being abused can be manipulated into a format which can be possessed legally. The consultation considered how the law could be tightened in this area, with the preferred option being the creation of a new offence with a maximum penalty of three years in prison and an unlimited fine.
A copy of the Consultation paper and the 25 responses received are available here. Copies of the responses can also be obtained from the Scottish Government Library.