One of the things I think is important to remember is that, as Thyme2dream hinted, naivete and innocence are not the same thing. As I was going through my teenage years and gaining experience, someone once tried to convince me that I was no longer innocent, that is, I was corrupted, 'guilty' of something dirty. I was horrified and deeply upset until I had a series of realisations regarding this. Firstly, by my own religious standards, I stand innocent in the eyes of God, and who else in this world REALLY matters to judge me? Secondly, innocence was not something I could lose that way. My innocence was a matter of attitude, not a matter of exactly what I had done and hadn't. Did I FEEL dirty, and corrupted? Was I jaded? Had i lost that sense of joy and sacredness in the area of sensuality I was exploring? No. In what way, then, was I not innocent? I was not IGNORANT, not naive. But I commited no crime, my intentions were those of love and mutual, considerate, slow and careful exploration of a natural part of human life. I was not *guilty* of anything. I had only lost my innocence if this person succeeded in making me believe that this innate, spiritual, special and transcendant quality had been lost. Loss of innocence requires disillusionment, pain, cynicism, and anger. I've experienced all of those, and certainly lost some innocence there, but as much of as I can hold onto, by rejecting cruelty, cynicism and not holding onto things that hurt me, I will keep around me like a blanket, or an aura, if you will, protecting me from believing that I am evil and corrupted. Because I'm not.

As hard as it is to believe sometimes, innocence cannot be stolen. People have to be convinced they've lost it, and give it up. That's exactly what degrading pornograhpy, and especially graphic violence do, as well as much of the sex industry, prostitution, etc. Victims, and children, are innocent by nature, no matter what they've seen. Just make sure they know that no one can steal it from them without their consent, as unwitting as that may be.

-Jessica