Patrick W. Galbraith interprets this as evidence that
lolicon imagery does not necessarily influence crimes,
[73] while Steven Smet suggests that
lolicon is an "exorcism of fantasies" that contributes to Japan's low crime rates.
[133] Galbraith further argues that
otaku culture collectively promotes a media literacy and ethical position of separating fiction and reality, especially when the conflation of the two would be dangerous.
[134] Drawing on his fieldwork as an anthropologist, he writes that the sexual imagination of
otaku, including
lolicon, "did not lead to 'immoral acts', but rather ethical activity".
[135] A 2012 report by the Sexologisk Klinik for the Danish government found no evidence that cartoons and drawings depicting fictive child sexual abuse encourage real abuse.
[136] Academic Sharalyn Orbaugh argues that manga depicting underage sexuality can help victims of child sexual abuse to work through their own trauma, and that there is greater harm in regulating sexual expression than potential harm caused by such manga.
[137]