Introduction: the reality of sexual images
It’s likely that you will have used self-justifications to persuade yourself that it is ok to allow yourself to view sexual images of children.
Self-justification describes how, when a person encounters a situation in which their behaviour is inconsistent with their beliefs, that person tends to justify the behaviour to allow themselves to continue what they are doing.
At first you might be aware that you are using self-justifications to let yourself look at illegal images. But your awareness of these justifications might fade over time the more they are used.
Starting point
Using the table below, write down your current level of knowledge and understanding about your awareness of the child abuse taking place in these images (1 = very little understanding; 2 = some understanding; 3 = secure understanding).
| I understand how illegal images victimise children. | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| I understand justifications I have used to allow myself to continue offending online. | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| I understand the effects of being photographed on the child in the image. | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Regardless of where you have scored yourself, it is important to work through the material in this module. We find that if people accept the reality of the harm caused to children, then they are less likely to continue with their illegal online behaviour.
