ABSTRACT
While there has been increasing scholarship devoted to child sexual abuse material (CSAM; previously known as ‘child pornography’), much of it has focused on either the actions of the offender or the impact of that behaviour on victims. This chapter will focus on the fault requirement in respect of indecent photographs of children, which is the term used by the law in England & Wales for CSAM. The chapter will discuss the mental fault requirement, and its interaction with the statutory defences that exist for some offences. The chapter will note that the fault requirement differs between the different types of behaviour criminalised, in a way that arguably highlights the inconsistency of the legislation. It supports the argument for rationalisation of these offences.
