All decent citizens of this country will welcome the proposal for handing out harsher punishment to adults who engage in sexual exploitation of minors, including the possession of child pornography.

If legislators amend the Cybercrimes Act, anyone found guilty of this crime could be imprisoned for a minimum of 15 years, as proposed last week by the Ministry of Education and Youth in its submission to the joint select committee now reviewing the Act.

The committee, we are told, had no problem with the recommendation as it falls in line with a proposal from the Ministry of Technology that Section 4 of the Cybercrimes Act should be adjusted so that the penalties for an adult — in cases in which the victim is a child — are in accordance with the sanctions in the Child Pornography (Prevention) Act.

Our report of the deliberations noted that Ms Wahkeen Murray, the technology ministry’s chief technical director, told the committee that the ministry’s review of the child pornography legislation found that the majority of the offences, in terms of imprisonment, range from 15 to 20 years, with possession of child pornography attracting a possible eight-year sentence.

The Education Ministry also noted that Section 4 of the Cybercrimes Act, in its current form, makes it possible for someone to be punished for possessing an indecent picture of a child, vis-à-vis child pornography, because it is an offence punishable by imprisonment for a term that exceeds one year. However, Section 4 can be adjusted to include a provision that offences relating to children will attract harsher penalties.

We would be surprised if there is pushback to this recommendation as child pornography is among the lowest form of immorality known to mankind. People who abuse children generally, let alone worsen that awful experience via sexual exploitation, should not be allowed to walk free among the public. They should be treated no less than the criminals who engage in the mindless slaughter of people.

It seems to us, though, that concomitant with the legislation is the need for greater public education on this matter.

People who take the time to read the legislation will know that it defines child pornography as any material showing a child engaged in sexual activity — actual or simulated; depictions of a child being subjected to torture, cruelty or abuse in a sexual context; and any visual representation, audio recording, or written material that advocates or counsels sexual activity with a child.

Therefore, anyone who creates, distributes, or shares pornographic content of children should be aware that they are in breach of the law.

Where, we gather, there is some amount of challenge in how the law is policed is in the area of investigation. Some months ago, Children’s Advocate Mrs Diahann Gordon Harrison raised this issue in a discussion with Jamaica Observer journalists.

According to Mrs Gordon Harrison, when videos depicting child abuse in any form surface we lack the forensic tools to determine how many other bits exist and from where they are being sent.

That is a challenge we need to urgently overcome. Our children and their families deserve that much.