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This is a fairly sensible move, since in most people's minds, "failure to report" would amount to aiding and abetting.

I see that the maximum penalty for downloading this material is now a 10 year prison term.

When I first read this I wondered about just how sensible that level of punishment was -- especially after listening to an item on National Radio the other day.

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It seems that men who fantasize sexually about children are being urged to seek help before these thoughts turn to physical acts.

NatRad listeners were told that, unfortunately, the stigma associated with child sex fantasies make it difficult for such people to come forward and get the help they need.

Well it strikes me, in the wake of such information, that those who are caught downloading child porn are not so much criminals as victims perhaps?

If, as was strongly suggested, an addiction to this material is just like an addiction to drugs, why do we vilify those who suffer from such a problem?

Why, as the broadcast quite neatly pointed out, don't we treat them like those who are hooked on highly addictive drugs -- and focus on providing counciling, support and an effective way to kick the habit?

Why is it that we instead seem to be concentrating on arresting and throwing these people in jail? Will that eliminate the root cause of the problem?

As I've mentioned in a former column, I'm really worried that the penalties for being an addict seem to be the same as those for pushing and making money from this stuff.

When it comes to drugs, we throw the book at drug pushers and dealers but we realise that those actually consuming the stuff are often caught in a web of addiction and need help to pry themselves free.

There are all manner of highly publicised and reasonably well funded drug addiction programmes that addicts can use to kick their habit -- but where would a child-porn addict go? I'd wager good money that, in the wake of proposed law changes that could see them thrown in jail for a very long time, few would be willing to even admit to their problem. Without that admission they have no chance of gaining the help they need.

Sorry folks, but this is one time when politicians, driven by the knee-jerk reaction of a public suffering "mob mentality" are legislating to intensify the problem, not reduce it.

What do you think -- should more effort be spent trying to break people's addiction to child porn? Should it be treated more like drug addiction than making it a crime of equal magnitude to the actual physical abuse of children?

Are our politicians simply inciting and then riding a wave of public outrage rather than dealing with the root cause of the problem?

Remember, we're talking about teachers, doctors, police and a full cross-section of our society that have become addicted to this stuff -- surely that implies that it's a problem that goes way further than simple "perversion".

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