Abby Police lead push to stop using the term ‘child porn’

ABBOTSFORD (NEWS1130) – If the Abbotsford Police Department gets its way, you won’t hear the terms “child porn” or “kiddie porn” anymore.

The department is now using the term “child sexual abuse,” unless they’re referring specifically to the Criminal Code.

“It just makes sense that the way we talk about issues impacts the way we perceive them and that impacts how we approach them,” says Deputy Chief Len Georke.

“If we want to win the fight against child sexual exploitation, we have to start with honest language.”

Catherine Dawson with the Abbotsford chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women approached Goerke about making the change; she spent seven years researching the topic and she also works in victim services.

“Pornography in Canada is legal, but it’s presumed to be the sexual activity recorded and displayed between adults,” Dawson tells News1130.

“The root of the word ‘pornography’ is actually ‘prostitution’ in French. We believe that by using those words, you actually minimize the perception in people’s minds of what this really is. They don’t really grasp it.”

Dawson and Goerke also have the support of the BC Association of Chiefs of Police on the issue and they’re hoping other departments around the province join them in making the switch.

“I would prefer never to see the terms ‘kiddie porn,’ ‘child porn,’ and ‘child love’ in a newspaper again,” says Dawson. “I’d like to see [articles referring to] ‘child sexual abuse’ followed by, ‘commonly referred to as child porn in the Criminal Code’ so that we can take that opportunity to educate people.”

Dawson is also lobbying the province to change the terminology in the Criminal Code.