A/HRC/55/55 work in the entertainment industry. 22 Those realities were highlighted in the results of a thematic study on addressing the vulnerabilities of children to sale and sexual exploitation within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals, which was presented by the Special Rapporteur in her previous report to the General Assembly. 23 Films and television shows portraying the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children cross the line between merely depicting such sexual abuse and exploitation and “glamourizing” it. Moreover, reinforcing, through such depictions, the power imbalances that perpetuate the sexual abuse and exploitation of children within the industry poses various ethical dilemmas. 24 17. Child sexual abuse material appears not only on the darknet but also on legal websites. 25 Such content helps to normalize the intolerable crime of the sexual instrumentalization of children.26 Such representations weaken the viewer’s sense of guilt and make such sexual acts easier to perceive as non-abusive.27 The systems and business structures that enable child sexual abuse in the entertainment industry must, therefore, be critically examined.28 2. Disproportionate power relations and dependence on the abuser 18. Perpetrators who engage in such behaviours often wield positions of power or influence over their child victims, exploiting their vulnerabilities and aspirations and those of their parents or guardians.29 Child performers, who are in vulnerable positions due to their age and the limited rules on working conditions, are disproportionately affected in contractual relations. Those in positions of power typically engage in “grooming”, in which they gain the trust of children and even their guardians, then isolate child victims from their support networks, leaving them emotionally reliant on the perpetrators’ guidance. 30 Victims are frequently coerced into maintaining silence through various means, including threats to their careers or their personal safety.31 Where victims are exploited in the context of poverty or intimacy, they may be dependent on and attached to their abusers. Combined with the lack of or limited contact with the outside world, victims may end up feeling empathy towards their abusers or be in a state of denial, as their future hinges on the world of entertainment. 32 3. Gendered dimensions that perpetuate harmful norms and practices 19. With reference to the extensive examination by the Special Rapporteur of the gender dimensions of the sexual exploitation of children,33 it is noted that gender inequalities affect both off-screen and on-screen roles in the entertainment industry. A study conducted on 1,100 popular films found that only 43 women worked as directors. 34 There is high job insecurity among women in the industry, especially for women of colour and Indigenous women, who remain significantly underemployed. 35 The hegemonic power of masculine corporate culture is one of the most dominant problems and has serious ramifications for violence and abuse.36 Female actors are more likely to be vulnerable in terms of contracts and 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 GE.23-25843 See submission from Colombia. See A/77/140. See submission from Foundation ECPAT International. See submission from the European Centre for Law and Justice. Ibid. Diana E. H. Russell, “Russell’s theory: exposure to child pornography as a cause of child sexual victimization”, in Melinda Tankard Reist and Abigail Bray, eds. Big Porn Inc: Exposing the Harms of the Global Pornography Industry (North Melbourne, Victoria, Spinifex Press, 2011). See submission from Joseph Bonner. Ibid. See Melissa S. de Roos and others “Mimicry Deception Theory applied to sexual abuse of children”, Child Abuse & Neglect, vol. 143 (September 2023); see also Melissa Samantha De Roos, “Mimicry Deception Theory applied to grooming behaviors of child sexual abuse”, thesis, University of Texas at El Paso, 2017. Ibid. See submission from the Centre d’Etudes sur le Leadership et la promotion des Droits Humains. See A/76/144. See submission from Caritas India. ILO, “Policy brief on sexual harassment”. Ibid. 5