[Asooka]

Child abuse is a real problem and should have considerable resources dedicated to combating it, but focussing on banning images depicting child abuse does nothing to prevent a child from being abused. We're close to a situation where it's safer to abuse children than to try and find images depicting child abuse. I'm pretty sure that focussing on preventing abuse and supporting children to report abuse will do a lot more than sweeping the evidence it ever happened under the rug. Of course that would also require you to go after some pretty high ranking people, so it's not very good for one's career.

[Mikeb85]

Police arrest child abusers and traffickers all the time... But as long as there's demand for CP people will create it (like many illecit activities), hence trying to reduce the demand (through making consequences for possessing it).

It's funny, comments on this site regularly demonize all sorts of non-consentual images (revenge porn for example) and rightly so but CP is the ultimate non-consentual image - a child doesn't even understand sexuality, isn't sexually mature, never mind able to consent... And there's comments here downplaying it, borderline condoning it...

[Asooka]

There is a vast ocean of difference between "borderline condoning" and "this data must not appear on any storage medium ever". People who possess images of abuse, be it of children or adults, should be forced to delete them and fined appropriately. Additionally there should be an investigation to identify the abusers and punish them accordingly. Beyond that I see no use in sending people who simply possess an image to prison. Yes, the person's rights are being infringed, which should result in some reparations, but I see no use in depriving that person of their freedom.

You cannot remove demand, but you can discourage supply enough that demand would have to be fulfilled by drawings or CGI renderings of nonexistent people.