[danaris]

The problem is, the things that would actually prevent CSA require things like "giving children rights", "widely mandating effective age-appropriate sex education even for young children", and "admitting that it's mostly not scary strangers doing it."

These are utterly anathema to huge chunks of society, especially American society. It's more and more clear, from the scope of the Epstein Files, just how much of American society and government has been influenced specifically to enable easy access to children by rich white men. Even beyond that, the entire right wing would instantly catch fire if we actually required effective sex education. Especially age-appropriate sex education going right down to kindergarten (yes, kindergarten: the better children that age understand what's normal and safe, the better they can communicate when someone is doing things to them that are not that...and I only stop at kindergarten because AFAIK that's the earliest mandated schooling still). Similarly, the right wing desperately wants to have absolute control over their children—treat them as property—so giving children rights that even parents have to respect will get them to oppose absolutely everything.

Plus, as other sibling comments have already noted, the real desire here is for ubiquitous surveillance. CSAM is just the excuse they use.

[throwaway89864]

Somehow, even something as simple as "age-appropriate sex education going right down to kindergarten" would tend to end up "special interests education from vocal minority groups."

[danaris]

To be clear, I recognize that there is zero chance of genuine effective age-appropriate sex education being mandated in the foreseeable future in the US, nor has there been any such chance at any time in the past. I'm merely noting some of the things that would actually be helpful measures in combating CSA if it were possible to implement them.

You're absolutely right that, even if such a mandate had already existed, it would've been erased or co-opted by right-wing groups by now.

[throwaway89864]

Yep, will end up right-wing groups, or same-sex groups.

[danaris]

To be even clearer, genuine effective age-appropriate sex education absolutely includes education on what it means to be trans, gay, bi, ace, and every other part of the queer rainbow, and that all of these things are just as good and normal as being straight, cis, etc.

Take your bigotry and stuff it.

[throwaway89864]

There is a distinction between teaching tolerance, celebrating diversity, vocal promotion of special interests and recruitment.

[danaris]

"Recruitment"? Do you think that queer people are "recruited"?

Do you think that queer people are a "special interest", like corn farmers?

No; that type of attitude is just run-of-the-mill queerphobia.

Young children need to be taught what gender identities are so that they will know if they are trans/nonbinary, so that they don't have to suffer for years or decades from gender dysphoria.

Slightly-older children need to be taught what sexual orientation is (the whole spectrum, including straight, gay, bi, and ace), so that they don't have to fumble their way through it, confused and often abused, and don't end up feeling like they're broken.

And intersex children desperately need to be taught about all of this and more, so that they don't have to suffer from all those problems plus not understanding why their body just doesn't fit any of the usual options.