The Guardian’s readers editor, Chris Elliott, wrote earlier this month about the terminology “child porn.” Elliott wrote that a reader complained over the use of the term “child porn” because the term sometimes refers to people “who have been abused and filmed” or “abused and exploited.”
The reader, who isn’t named, suggested that The Guardian use the term “indecent images” because “porn…suggests an element of consenting adults.”
Elliott noted that the an organization that “fights child abuse on the web,” Internet Watch Foundation follows terminology “child sexual abuse content.”
Elliott reported that The Guardian’s style guide editor, David Marsh, would be establishing a style guide entry on how to refer to child abuse images.