An invasion of pornography

Many men who commit crimes of sexual violence live on a diet of pornography. Up to a third of child sex offenders said they had viewed pornography prior to offending.

The Ninth Australasian Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in November 2003 was told by staff from the Child at Risk Assessment Unit, Canberra Hospital that exposure to X-rated pornography is a significant factor in children younger than 10-years-old sexually abusing other children.

In the first six months of 2003, 48 children under 10 were identified as having engaged in sexually abusive acts. Access to graphic sexual images had shaped the trend.

In 2003 the Australia Institute found one in 20 boys aged 16-17 watch X-rated videos once a week and more than a fifth did so at least once a month. This has to distort their view of women.

Research shows that significant exposure to “standard” pornography desensitises men to the pain women experience in sexual assault; decreases compassion toward women in general; creates a need for more violent and bizarre forms of sex; desensitises users to hard core pornography; and increases men's self-reported likelihood to commit sexual abuse.

We need to address the harm caused by pornography everywhere.