Pornography Fuels Addiction, Rape, and
Molestation
Rape rates have increased by 500% since 1960. This increase parallels the growth of the
pornography industry in this country. Researcher Dr. W. Marshall published a report
on the connection between pornography and rapists in the Journal of Sex Research in
1988. Marshall said that 86% of convicted rapists said they were regular users of pornography;
and 57% admitted direct imitation of pornographic scenes when they committed rape.
In short, pornography is a teaching manual for rapists. It provides the potential rapist with visual models to use in committing his crimes. Not all rapists, of course, are porn addicts. Many are sociopaths who use violence to punish women. It is a matter of having power over a person or inflicting pain upon them. There is no sexual satisfaction involved. Yet, pornography use is closely related to the propensity of a man to act out his sexual fantasies by raping a woman.
The American Family Association's publication, "A Guide to What One Person Can Do About Pornography" contains additional alarming statistics about the relationship between pornography and sex crimes. The report notes, for example:
· Detroit police Chief Herbert Case has observed, "There has not been a sex murder in the history of our department in which the killer was not an avid reader of lewd magazines."
A study of "recreational killers" (individuals who kill for the fun) by the National
Institutes of Mental Health reported that these killers are highly intelligentbut are consumed with sadistic lust, and most "feed on pornography."
Researchers Murray Straus and Larry Baron issued a report that found a highcorrelation between high rape rates and pornography use in both Alaska and
Nevada. These researchers concluded, "The fact that sex magazine readership
Nevada. These researchers concluded, "The fact that sex magazine readership
is strongly and consistently correlated with rape supports the theory
that porn endorses attitudes that increase the likelihood of rape."
A Generation of Sex Addicts
Sex addiction is a relatively new category of addiction. What are the characteristics of a sex addict? Bill Perkins, writing:
When Good Men Are Tempted, cites the work of therapist
Patrick Carnes, a well-known expert on sexual addiction. Carnes says that there are four
clear indicators that a person has become addicted to compulsive sexual behaviors. One:
The sexual behavior is done in secret and the person frequently lies to cover up his actions; Two: The behavior can become abusive and exploitative of others; Three: The behavior is used to deaden painful feelings; Four: The behavior is empty of genuine commitment and caring. These are the warning signs that a person is addicted.
The rising tide of sex addicts in this country is cause for alarm. Henry J. Rogers, writing in his book,
he interviewed a Dallas Christian counselor who said the number of clients trapped by
pornography has risen significantly during the last ten years. The Internet is playing a major role in creating new sexual addicts. According to Christian counselor Rob Jackson, he is seeing an increasing number of pastors who are secretly involved in pornography. We expect the numbers to rise unless parents, pastors, and Christian leaders do not take drastic actions to cut off exposure to pornography. The numbers tell the story, but they cannot give us the full impact of how these sex addicts are destroying their own lives and the lives of others.
Dr. Patrick Carnes, a leading researcher on sexual addictions studied 932 sex addicts and
found that 90% of the men and 77% of the women report that pornography is a significant
element in their sexual addiction. He found two common elements in sex addiction: Childhood sexual abuse and frequent pornography use accompanied by masturbation.
The Internet is only compounding the problem and creating a whole new generation of
sex addicts and potential sexual predators. Charles Colson has called Internet pornography "Spiritual Crack Cocaine," and indeed it is. In 2000, Focus on the Family conducted a survey with the respected Zogby International polling firm on the Internet surfing habits of Americans. The survey results indicate that 1 out of 5 American adults may have looked for sex sites on the Internet. Of those surveyed, 31% of the men said they had visited sex sites. Focus also found that 17.8% of those who claim to be "born again" Christians and18% of those who are married have visited sex sites.
What about teenagers? A 1999 survey conducted by the Yankelovich polling firm discovered that more than 50% of teens admit to visiting pornography web sites. Of the teens surveyed, a staggering 79% said they had found porn on their school or library computer. This figure is up 70% from 1997--just two years earlier. In addition, 67% said they access porn at home and 64% said they also used a computer at a friend's house to access porn sites. One of the most serious statistics from this study is that 75% of parents who were surveyed by Yankelovich claimed that they knew "everything" or a "fair amount" about what their kids were looking at on the Internet. This statistic reveals a glaring ignorance on the part of parents as to what their children are actually seeing on the Web.
Parents must join the fight against pornography!
This Article was written and submitted by:
Traditional Values Coalition is an inter-denominational public policy organization comprising over 43,000 member churches. For more information on the work of TVC, call our Washington, DC office at 202-547-8570 or access our web site at: www.traditionalvalues.
org. TVC, 139 C Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003.
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