The Jamaica Youth Advocacy Network (JYAN) is deeply concerned by reports of the circulation and solicitation of sexually explicit material involving a child and the disturbing public commentary accompanying these reports. JYAN reminds the public that children are entitled to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, regardless of the circumstances in which sexually explicit material involving them was created or came into circulation. a child’s behaviour, whether they initiated the sexual communication, took an image/video of themselves, sent an image/video to another person, or participated in the creation of sexually explicit material, does not give an adult permission to request, possess, reproduce or distribute that material.

The Child Pornography Act (2009) establishes offences relating to the production, distribution, possession and access of child pornography. Section 4 speaks to knowingly possessing and distributing child pornography; and Section 5 speaks to knowingly accessing child pornography. The law is clear that coming across suspected child sexual abuse material is not an invitation to download, save, request, forward or seek it out.

In this regard, JYAN is concerned by the reports of adults actively requesting or soliciting the circulation of sexually explicit material involving a child. Adults should never request nude or sexually explicit images of or from children, encourage children to engage in sexualised communication, or seek to obtain, possess or circulate sexually explicit material involving minors. Such conduct warrants serious scrutiny and, where appropriate, investigations by the relevant authorities.

JYAN therefore urges members of the public to refrain from requesting, downloading, reposting or otherwise circulating sexually explicit material involving a child. That the material is allegedly already circulating online, or is being circulated to condemn the conduct, does not justify further dissemination. We encourage persons who inadvertently come into possession of or access to such material to take reasonable steps to remove or destroy it, report it to the appropriate authorities and provide information that can assist investigation efforts.

Given the current reports, JYAN reiterates our call for a Joint Select Committee to address policy and legislative matters affecting children and for our policymakers to demonstrate a no-nonsense approach to addressing conduct that is increasingly harmful to our most vulnerable. We urge the government to advance measures aimed at strengthening accountability for sexual offences and protecting children from exploitation, especially in the evolving digital space.

Executive Director of JYAN, Shannique Bowden, commented, “Our position must always be to condemn those who exploit children, while employing every effort to act in the best interest of the child. A child’s perceived behaviour cannot be used to justify their exploitation. We are concerned that the public’s focus is on the behaviour of the child, rather than the conduct of the adults and others who exploit, possess or distribute sexualised materials involving children.”

JYAN commends the authorities for their attention to this matter, and hopes that the appropriate investigations result in the protection of the child involved and hold accountable anyone who may have possessed and distributed material which violates our child protection laws.