to email BBC News and complain they are still using term "child porn" on their news website.

[kissmyheathenass]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-31015347 gary glitter related - ugghh.

I know lots of us find the term 'child porn offensive'. The BBC bends over backwards to avoid language which might offend so why do they think this is acceptable? I am emailing them to point out why they should to rephrase. If anyone else would like to email them, please do!

Thanks sofa, I have to admit, I have never been happy with their response to complaints.

I think that, as discussed above, there was a feeling that "child prostitute" was problematic because it implied consent, so "child porn" must also imply consent and therefore should also fall out of use.

I'm not sure it's an accurate analogy, though, because to me "child porn" does not imply consent in the same way as "child prostitute" does.

Still, if the term is generally found to be offensive by people who have been the victims of this crime, I will cease to use it.

I would not bother raising the issue among my acquaintances over here in Japan, because over here we have bigger fish to fry right now, like the fact that these images were completely legal to own unti 2013, and the fact that less-extreme images (photos of pre-pubescent girls wearing underwear and bikinis) are still not against the law and are sold quite openly by Japanese retailers.

So glad to see BBC have rephrased. Brilliant! This thread has some great posts which articulate so much better than I can what I feel about the words 'child porn'. Thank you for posting and for emailing BBC. I will post any response I get from BBC on here.please do the same (assuming we get a response).

"Child porn" focuses upon what the images mean to the person using them to fuel their fantasies of sexually abusing children. "Images of child abuse" or "indecent images of children" focuses instead upon what the images mean to the victims.

It might be "only semantics", but words shape thoughts, and thoughts shape actions.

I didn't see/read the article on the website, but listened out on the BBC News on TV this evening and the newsreader used the term abuse, so maybe it is filtering through.

I think it's useful to consider what happens to the terms when you take the word 'child' out of them, it feels like that shows if they convey their true meaning well.

Child Porn = Porn
Child Abuse = Abuse
Child Prostitution = Prostitution
Child Rape = Rape

Porn and prostitution are seen by quite a lot of people as things that are ok or harmless or choices. Pretty much everyone is clear that abuse and rape are none of those. Since we have those clear terms why not use them when talking about children too instead of one's that can convey a different sentiment.

I have had a full reply...

Dear

Reference

Thank you for taking the time to contact us.

I was sorry to read you were disappointed with the BBC News website. I understand you were unhappy that a headline regarding Gary Glitter referred to 'child porn'. I appreciate you feel use of this term is irresponsible and should be labelled ‘images of child abuse’.

To address your concern; the terms child pornography or child porn used on their own do not necessarily convey the reality of such material, so we should try to use other language such as 'images that show child sex abuse' or 'indecent images of children' to make this clear. Where possible we should avoid the term 'child porn', though at times it may be the best way to convey meaning in a short headline. In any case, if either term is used in headlines or summaries, the text should spell out the nature of such material.

While use of the term hasn’t been banned completely; the headline in this particular case has been altered to read: “Gary Glitter breaks down in tears over child abuse images”.

Rest assured, we do value your feedback. All complaints are sent to senior management and in this case, the BBC News team every morning and I included your points in this overnight report. These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC and ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly. This helps inform their decisions about current and future programmes.

Once again, many thanks for contacting us.

Kind regards

Sounds positive ?

I'm with you, op. Well done.

I am going to reply saying I'm glad they changed it but they should have a moratorium on its use just as they've banned other outdated language in accordance with expert advice (CEOP, NSPCC).

The same should apply to the comments too. If it's shown to be unacceptable by removing them, then more and more people on other sites will stop using it (hopefully).

The same should apply to the comments too. If it's the BBC shown to be that they are unacceptable by removing them, then more and more people on other sites will stop using it (hopefully).

Sorry, I'm freezing and can't type properly

Sorry not to post earlier, just had a chance to come back to the thread.

I had the same reply as MrsHathawy

Reference CAS-3125862-9YVPWZ
Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
I was sorry to read you were disappointed with the BBC News website. I understand you were unhappy that a headline regarding Gary Glitter referred to 'child porn'. I appreciate you feel use of this term is irresponsible and should be labelled 'images of child abuse'.
To address your concern; the terms child pornography or child porn used on their own do not necessarily convey the reality of such material, so we should try to use other language such as 'images that show child sex abuse' or 'indecent images of children' to make this clear. Where possible we should avoid the term 'child porn', though at times it may be the best way to convey meaning in a short headline. In any case, if either term is used in headlines or summaries, the text should spell out the nature of such material.
While use of the term hasn’t been banned completely; the headline in this particular case has been altered to read: “Gary Glitter breaks down in tears over child abuse images”.
Rest assured, we do value your feedback. All complaints are sent to senior management and in this case, the BBC News team every morning and I included your points in this overnight report. These reports are among the most widely read sources of feedback in the BBC and ensures that your concerns have been seen by the right people quickly. This helps inform their decisions about current and future programmes.
Once again, many thanks for contacting us.
Kind regards
Brian Irvine
BBC Complaints
www.bbc.co.uk/complaints

I'm pleased with this response. I feel that my complaint was taken seriously and given due consideration. I will keep up the momentum if I see that term again. Hopefully it will soon be seen to be outdated and unacceptable as have some other terms that were widely used in the past.

Yes think i had same reply