it feels relatively easy for people to understand that like, bdsm isn't some slippery slope for sexual abuse, that while sexual abuse happens within the bdsm community, being into bdsm isn't a predictor for sexual harm and it happens plenty without a person being into any bdsm activities at all. but then ageplay has to be some kind of slippery slope to committing real harm to real children for some reason. fucking everything people understand about kink suddenly gets thrown out the window and thoughtcrime is real
Kink makes you better at recognizing and preventing sexual abuse almost every time. Before accepting things like ageplay kinks, I thought CSA was like it is in stories, children being kidnapped or otherwise spirited away to secret evil places where horrible things were done to them as an institution.
This, as you can imagine, makes a person completely fucking worthless at preventing child sex abuse.
The reality is so much more morbidly boring, and it was only through kink that I made the connections with people who could tell me about that reality. CSA doesn't happen because of secret child hating kabals and it sure as *fuck* doesn't happen because of the ageplayers I've met. It happens when a child is given only one adult to go to for support, or told by society that they must obey a certain adult no matter what they do, or they were so sheltered from the outside world they were denied the chance to recognize their own suffering.
None of these factors are worsened by ageplayers existing. In fact, several of the ageplayers I've met had put significant resources into fighting SCA, some by donating time and money to community causes and some by directly interceding to protect children they knew, because they were able to recognize the signs
They absolutely weren't all perfect, like all groups of people some of them did choose to disrespect and hurt others. I've definitely known ageplayers who have been assaulted and ageplayers who *have* assaulted but you know what? None of these scenarios involved any children.
So if your questions is "what about the bad people in ageplay who want to sexually abuse others?" Well, the answer is "they are going to abuse other adults." Why would pedophiles bother hanging out in strictly all adult spaces? Especially all adult spaces where the adults in question are going to be significantly more concerned about any potential children nearby? *Especially* when the alternative is going to be going home and abusing a child relative with pretty much total impunity.
Fight child sexual abuse by encouraging more freedom, education, and emancipation of children, not by bothering random kinksters for having the gall to enjoy simulating different taboos than you.
