I may sound unpopular, but protecting children and future generations is not an imposition, it is a decision based on life experiences, moral compass and ethics. Just like it is a decision to become vegan or having a meat-based diet with the implications each option has. Being radical on any decision will always come to a cost. Strict vegans could punish themselves just for salivating to the smell of a steak being cooked. The same goes to strict carnivores who could be publicly humiliated for just mentioning that a vegetable looks delicious. A strict anti-CSA person could feel extreme guilt for experiencing pleasure (not sexual) after just hugging a child which could trigger the fear of becoming a perpetrator. But that’s more of an emotional modulation issue. Pathological alarms would sound if the pleasure persists for extended periods of time and if there are episodes of sexually fantasizing or idealizing a minor. Our mind has to learn what desires it can feed and what desires should be discarded ASAP in order to heal and become the person we want.
In my personal experience, I’ve browsed on some adult websites that sometimes display thumbnails with performers who look way below legal age. For obvious reasons, I don’t click on those videos, but I also won’t cover my eyes and pretend that doesn’t happen. I understand that, if those videos are published in “legal” websites is because there’s someone powerful allowing it so, unless I have an army mighty enough to debunk them, I just limit myself to not support what I dislike.
It’s also important to consider what being a “perpetrator” means. People who produce or consume CP or people who exploit children are clearly in that category, but the big fishes are normally out of reach because they’re protected by authorities. On the other hand, framing someone into a sex-offender scandal is super easy these times with sensational press, social media and polarized society ready to lynch someone first and ask later. A recent example is the Mexican youtuber YosStop who naively published a video she received from “a friend” where a teenager is being abused. Even though YosStop's actions were illegal (and somehow stupid) I don’t think she did it with harmful intentions. I also think she’s being used as a scapegoat and a distraction from a far bigger scandal about Mexican actor Enrique Guzman who’s been sued by his own granddaughter for sexually abusing her. Another person framed was James Charles who (according to his version) received unsolicited inappropriate photos from a minor and that same person sued James because he kept the photos in his phone’s memory.
I’ve spent way too much time alone these last two years reflecting on my past and I’ve come to some clear measures to avoid becoming and being pointed/framed as a perpetrator:
I shall listen to my moral compass as it is one of the most important assets I’ve earned
I shall trust my sense of ethics and be sure and proud to consider myself a good (not perfect) person
I shall not trust people blindly, even if they are part of my “family” or people in the news
I shall not participate in media lynching or run to save anyone from injustice… even if it looks fun, becoming judgmental and irrational could easily backfire
I shall not accept any kind of illegal material. If received, I shall consider delivering it to authorities before commenting with anyone else (not even spouse or my pets) and restrict or even block communication with the person who sent it even if they’re family or friends.
********* POTENTIAL TRIGGERS AHEAD **************
I shall strictly and unapologetically stop any kind of contact or conversation with minors that may have taken a sexual turn ASAP. From my personal experience, I know that even small children can be used to frame an adult as a sex-offender. I was used by my abominable mother to frame my nanny when I was about 5 years old. Just a few words from that abominable woman and I was “playing to undress” my nanny. By the time my nanny understood what was happening, the abomination had taken several photos of us with my nanny’s breasts in my tiny hands. She stopped being a nanny and became a slave through extortion and threats.