아동 포르노그래피의 형법적 규제 - 국제적 동향과 현행법의 개선방안-

Since 1990 the child pornography has become the social problem because of the wide spread of the Internet. UNESCO has sought to combat child pornography by helping to prevent the perverse and vicious abuse of the most fundamental rights of the child. Also many countries has established legal instruments to fulfill this task. The 1996 Stockholm World Congress against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children defined child pornography as "any visual or audio material which uses children in a sexual context". It consists of the visual depiction of child engaged in explicit sexual conduct, real or simulated, or the lewd exhibition of the genitals intended for the sexual gratification of the user, and involves the production, distribution and/or use of such material. Some researchers said that child pornography was usually used in the sexual crimes, especially child sexual abuse. Such pornographical material is used to coerce children into submission, or to legitimize the act so that they see it as acceptable behaviour. And other predators uses pornographical material in self-stimulation preceding sexual abuse. The question of what constitutes child pornography is complex. The standards applied are often subjective and contingent upon moral, cultural, social situation and religious beliefs. Furthermore, these standards do not translate into law in the strictly judicial sense. Legal definitions of both children and child pornography may differ globally. This paper reviews legal provision that regulate child pornography in many countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan and France. Furthermore, this paper examines legal status quo on child pornography in Korea, and suggests future legal problems that should be solved to protect children from sexual abuse adequately and efficiently.