The Influence of International Statistics in the European Parliamentary Debates about Audiovisual Sexual Risks for Children

• In Event: Children, Adolescents, & the Media Division - Research Escalator Sessions (Panel 2)

Abstract

Introduction. European parliamentary debates on the Audiovisual Media Services Directive (2010/13/EU), the Directive on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography (2011/92/EU) and the Better Internet for Kids program (COM 2012 196 final) make often reference to statistics provided by European institutions and associated agencies. These organizations play a role in the construction of knowledge and interpretation of socio-political phenomena. Aims. The research wishes to observe how international statistics create hegemonic, emancipated and polemic representations of audiovisual sexual risks for children, through reference to international and national data (Moscovici, 1961/76). Methods. The corpus is composed of 45 debates, held at the European Parliament between 2001 and 2016. A content analysis is carried on through the AltasTi software (Bauer, Gaskell, 2007; Dany, 2016). Results. Social representations are transmitted and transformed within European institutions through data produced by Eurobarometer, EuKidsOnline, Europol, Interpol, United Nations, NGOs. Policy concerning the most violent crimes, such as child pornography and sexual exploitation, tend to be tackled through reference to a higher variety of data sources and statistics, aimed at filling a gap in scientific knowledge.

Keywords:audiovisual, Internet, children, Europe, Parliament, risk, debate, hegemonic, emancipated representations, science, common sense.

Author

• Agnese Pastorino, Sapienza University of Rome