Changes

==Connections with Pedophilia==

==Connections with Pedophilia==

In a 2-part article in ''The Advocate'' in 1980, Califia attacked age of consent laws and demanded to "liberate children and adolescents". In a later article “Feminism, Pedophilia and Children’s Rights”, written in 1991 for ''Paidika'', she upheld these views and insisted that there was something called “the sexual rights of young people”. In her eyes, any attempt to interfere with a life of promiscuity from the cradle to the grave is a crime. She ridicules attempts to stamp out child pornography and insists that it is innocuous: “When most people think of child pornography, they imagine full-color movies and magazines that show adults raping prepubescent children. In fact, most of the material consisted of black and white photo magazines. The bulk of the imagery was of nude children or teens. A minority of images showed young people being sexual with each other, and a very tiny proportion of it showed adults engaged in sexual conduct with minors.” In this and many respects, her article is inaccurate. Police and others investigating child pornography report that huge amounts of videos are now being made, using real children, some aged two or less, in scenes of violence, torture and degradation. One example described by police in the UK is a video showing a girl aged approximately 10 being kept naked in a basement, chained up and wearing a dog-collar, and being raped, cut and beaten by masked men.

In a 2-part article in ''The Advocate'' in 1980, Califia attacked age of consent laws and demanded to "liberate children and adolescents". In a later article “Feminism, Pedophilia and Children’s Rights”, written in 1991 for ''Paidika'', she upheld these views and insisted that there was something called “the sexual rights of young people”. In her eyes, any attempt to interfere with a life of promiscuity from the cradle to the grave is a crime. She ridicules attempts to stamp out child pornography and insists that it is innocuous: “When most people think of child pornography, they imagine full-color movies and magazines that show adults raping prepubescent children. In fact, most of the material consisted of black and white photo magazines. The bulk of the imagery was of nude children or teens. A minority of images showed young people being sexual with each other, and a very tiny proportion of it showed adults engaged in sexual conduct with minors.” In this and many respects, her article is inaccurate. Police and others investigating child pornography report that huge amounts of videos are now being made, using real children, some aged two or less, in scenes of violence, torture and degradation.  

Califia ridicules investigations into pedophile rings and allegations of ritual abuse, both of which she dismisses as fantasy caused by “panic” and “hysteria”. In fact, a 1993 survey by the American Bar Association's Center on Children and Family Law determined that 26% of prosecutors nationwide have handled cases involving ‘ritualistic sexual abuse.’ The ABA website lists dozens of cases in every state of the USA and abroad during the past thirty years. Many resulted in the deaths of victims, about half of whom are boys. It adds, “Many ritual child abuse cases never are prosecuted due to the disbelief of authorities or the unlikelihood that young, severely traumatized children will be able to withstand cross-examination.”

Califia ridicules investigations into pedophile rings and allegations of ritual abuse, both of which she dismisses as fantasy caused by “panic” and “hysteria”. In fact, a 1993 survey by the American Bar Association's Center on Children and Family Law determined that 26% of prosecutors nationwide have handled cases involving ‘ritualistic sexual abuse.’ The ABA website lists dozens of cases in every state of the USA and abroad during the past thirty years. Many resulted in the deaths of victims, about half of whom are boys. It adds, “Many ritual child abuse cases never are prosecuted due to the disbelief of authorities or the unlikelihood that young, severely traumatized children will be able to withstand cross-examination.”