4 - Moral panics and the impact of the construction of childhood innocence

Summary

This chapter explores in depth the question of how much of the social reality around us is socially constructed and defined. I examine whether a moral panic and availability cascades have impacted on societal and legal responses to the phenomena of child pornography and stranger grooming, and the effect of constructions of childhood innocence upon adults and children.

MORAL PANICS AND AVAILABILITY CASCADES

Initially in this section, I briefly analyse the origins of moral panics and availability cascades and relevant academic theory. I then proceed to investigate the question of whether the threats that child pornography and stranger grooming represent may have been blown out of proportion due to the existence of a moral panic about these phenomena and the effects of an availability cascade in our society. In particular, I assess the way in which the media, the public, the police, the judiciary and politicians have responded to this and related phenomena.

Origins of moral panics and availability cascades

Reality is socially defined. But the definitions are always embodied, that is, concrete individuals and groups of individuals serve as the definers of reality.

Goode and Ben-Yehuda outline five crucial ingredients for a moral panic: (1) an increased level of concern regarding the behaviour in question; (2) amplified hostility towards the individuals who engage in this behaviour; (3) widespread consensus that the behaviour poses a real threat; (4) a disproportionality between the perceived threat that the behaviour represents and the threat it actually and objectively poses; and, finally, (5) volatility – the moral panic begins and ends fairly suddenly.