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Studies on effects of Pornography have been carried out by FBI and NYPD agents, Therapists and Researchers from various universities. According to FBI and NYPD agents, Vernon J. Geberth, Roger Young, John E. Douglas, Roy Hazelwood, Dr. W.L. Marshall Pornography is directly linked between Sex Crimes, and Pornography and Sex magazines are linked with Porn inspired behavior of perpetrators. Other studies involving researchers like Dr.Mary Anne Layden has linked Pornography with rape. However, Epidemiological studies and Controlled studies have provided inconclusive insights into the problem of linking Pornography with Sex Crimes. Another area on study has focussed on Physical and Psychological effects. According to research has of Layden, McGuire, few of the Pornographic performers are psychologically and physically effected and the exposure results in distorted views on sexuality. Other research including Melissa Farley, Martin Monto, M. Silbert and A. Pines and organizations like WHISPER (Women Hurt in Systems of Prostitution Engaged in Revolt) to name a few have directly linked Pornography with Sexual trafficking and increasing in prostitution.

Relation with crimes

Violent crimes

FBI agents, Researchers have claimed correlations between Pornography, Sex Magazines, and Sex Crimes, however these focus on whether violent criminals viewed pornography, rather than whether viewing pornography leads to violent crime.

In the book Sex-Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives, Vernon J. Geberth, a retired Lt. Commander with the NYPD writes that pornography has influenced several sex-related crime. According to Vernon, many of the pornographic depictions were the road map to the offenses that the perpetrators of sex crimes were committing. He further writes that,"pornography is the fuel that acts as a catalyst for fantasy-driven behavior. There's no doubt in my mind that pornography plays an important part in violent sex crimes." During his investigation, Vernon found that, looking at some of the pornography, the offender fantasizes about doing it to a victim, and then implements the fantasy. He further writes, the perpetrators "in the realm of psychology or psychiatry, they always have some sort of an apology for behavior; they'll run to DSM-IV". He gives several examples, including Harvey Glatman, John Robinson.

Roger Young, the FBI's former lead obscenity investigator says that in few cases, mafia is involved with creation and distribution of pornography. Young further writes that pornography outlets had direct effect in the crime rate.

In her research, Dr.Layden writes that, "One in 8 women are raped, 50% of females will be sexually harassed on their jobs. By the time a female in this country is 18 years old, 38% have been sexually molested. We are the most sexually violent nation on earth." Dr.Layden writes, "I have not treated one case of sexual violence that did not include pornography. In every case of sibling incest that I have treated, the pornography involved has been sex magazines most often Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler."

In "Journey Into Darkness" (1997), the FBI's serial-rape profiler, John E. Douglas wrote, " with a large pornography collection, either store-bought or homemade. … our research does show that certain types of sadomasochistic and bondage-oriented material can fuel the fantasies of those already leaning in that direction."

In "The Evil That Men Do" (1998), FBI serial-rape-murderer-mutilator profiler Roy Hazelwood quotes one sex killer who tied his victims in "a variety of positions" based on pictures he saw in sex magazines.

Dr. W.L. Marshall, in "Criminal Neglect, Why Sex Offenders Go Free", says based on the evidence, pornography "feeds and legitimizes their deviant sexual tendencies."

In "Thrill Killers, a Study of America 's Most Vicious Murders," by Charles Linedecker, reports that 81 percent of these killers rated pornography as their primary sexual interest.

Silbert, M. and Pines, A., in "Pornography and Sexual Abuse of Women," published their study involving prostitutes in the international journal Sex Roles, "The comments followed the same pattern: the assailant referred to pornographic materials he had seen or read and then insisted that the victims not only enjoyed rape but also extreme violence."

Serial killer Ted Bundy confessed that his pornography addiction went though stages. As a boy he saw Softcore Pornography, and later started viewing Hardcore Pornography and Violent Pornography which played an influencing role in his crimes.

Relationship with rape

Several researchers have argued the connection between rape and pornography. According to Dr.Layden, studies have shown a connection with rape and pornography. In the research Layden writes, "when normal college mates are shown pornography, 50-65% of them then say they would be willing to rape a women if they thought they wouldn't get caught. Males who have committed acquaintance rape are more likely to be frequent readers of sex magazines like Playboy and Hustler. The more sex magazines sold within a state the higher the rape rate." It was reported that when Oklahoma City closed down 150 porn shops, they had a 26% reduction in rapes.

Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media writes that pornography has played a important role in the increase of rapes and sex crimes. Dr.Judith A. Reisman writes that pornography is closely related to increase in rape. According to Reisman, "Sex criminals copy what porn depicts". In one study of rapists, Gene Abel of the New York Psychiatric Institute cited, "One-third reported that they had used pornography immediately prior to at least one of their crimes." In 1984, the U.S. Attorney General's Task Force on Family Violence reported, "Testimony indicates that an alarming number of rape and sexual assault offenders report that they were acting out behavior they had viewed in pornographic materials."

Family life and divorces

Roger Young, the FBI's former lead obscenity investigator says that pronography has played a major part in the rift between spouses and eventually ending in divorce.

Roger Young says, "I fought obscenity and child pornography work for over 23 years. I know how devastating the residual effects of it are on the individuals, families, communities, and the nation. ... I realized that there are so many people in all walks of life that just don't see the big picture of obscenity and the problems that it causes, and the residual effects of financial loss, of psychological damage, of the future of raising healthy people in this country, realizing how dangerous this can be."

Dr.Mary Anne Layden is the Director of Education, Center for Cognitive Therapy, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; and Director, Social Action Committee for Women's Psychological Health, Philadelphia. Layden writes that, "If the sex industry made us healthy, then those in the sex industry would be the healthiest and have the healthiest relationships. The reality is far from that." Layden writes that in her research she found that the for the man who is addicted there are an enormous host of problems that could be anticipated. Layden writes that, "research indicates and my clinical practice supports that approximately 40% of sex addicted males will lose their spouse. Severe financial consequences will be suffered by about 59% with some losing all of their savings and earnings. in general, about 27% will either lose their jobs or be demoted. Among professionals who are sex addicted, as many as 40% will lose their professions due to their sexual acting out."

Epidemiological studies

"The effects of Pornography: An International Perspective" was an epidemiological study which found that the massive growth of the pornography industry in the United States between 1975 and 1995 was accompanied by a substantial decrease in the number of sexual assaults per capita; and reported similar results for Japan. Findings of this nature have been critiqued by Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media, on the grounds that the results are better explained by factors other than the increased prevalence of pornography:

a more plausible explanation is that if there is a decline in “forcible rape,” it is the result of a tremendous effort to curb rape through community and school-based programs, media coverage, aggressive law enforcement, DNA evidence, longer prison sentences, and more.

Danish criminologist Berl Kutchinsky's Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark (1970), a scientific report ordered by the Presidential Commisson on Obscenity and Pornography, found that the legalizing of pornography in Denmark had not (as expected) resulted in an increase of sex crimes.

Since then, many other experiments have been conducted, either supporting or opposing the findings of Berl Kutchinsky, who would continue his study into the social effects of pornography until his death in 1995. His life's work was summed up in the publication Law, Pornography, and Crime: The Danish Experience (1999).

In stark contrast to the previously described research, a review of epidemiological studies found that some studies find that the quantity of pornographic material viewed by men was positively correlated with degree to which they endorsed sexual assault. Yet it sees a failure to find statistically significant correlations in other studies.

Controlled studies

In this context, a controlled study describes the correlation between given behaviors or environmental conditions and health effects in a laboratory setting in which conditions other than those under study are effectively held constant across groups of participants receiving various levels of the experimental condition(s). Since it is considered that the only functional difference between groups is the level of experimental condition(s) received, researchers can strongly infer cause-and-effect relationships from statistically significant associations between experimental condition(s) and health consequences. Thus, controlled studies have high levels of internal validity. However, such studies often suffer from questionable external validity due to the considerable differences between real-world environments and laboratory settings, and the consequent belief that results cannot be generalized beyond the experimental context. A double-blind study involves participants who are unaware of the levels of experimental condition(s) that they are receiving, and recording of data by observers who are likewise not informed of the groups to which participants have been assigned. Double-blind studies avoid biased results due to participants' or observers' beliefs concerning the effects of the experimental condition(s). While often performed to assess the effects of pharmaceuticals, since placebo medication can be employed, double-blind studies concerning the health consequences of viewing pornographic materials are impossible, as participants would be aware of their exposure to the experimental condition.

"Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography" was review of controlled studies which found that extensive viewing of the type of pornographic material commonly sold at adult bookstores was positively correlated with leniency in the sentencing of a person convicted of rape in a mock trial setting (figure 5), decreased satisfaction of participants with their sex lives and partners (figure 10), and an increased self-reported willingness to commit rape or other forced sexual acts (figure 12). This line of research has been critiqued in "The effects of Pornography: An International Perspective" on external validity grounds:

Lab experiments typically do not take into account context and other crucial social and situational factors in considering the audience or the material... In real life, individuals are free to satisfy different sexual urges in ways unavailable to students in classroom or subjects in laboratory situations.

Physical and Psychological effects

In her research, Dr.Mary Anne Layden writes that strippers and women working in sex industry and production of pornography, had severe psychiatric problems including Multiple Personality Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Major Depressive Episodes. In her research Dr.Mary Anne Layden writes found that among strippers, "eating disorders are rampant. Many of the women starve, vomit, abuse exercise or laxatives to become the unnatural shape that is demanded of them. Plastic surgery is almost invariably required especially artificial breasts to produce unnaturally large breasts. This surgery is considered a necessity despite the evidence that artificial breasts interfere with mammograms, and are implicated in autoimmune deficiency disorders in the women, and digestive disorders in the babies of the women who have had the surgery." In the study Layden found that few of the women involved in pornography production, "are so disempowered and so damaged by their early abuse that they have no concept of healthy self-esteem or of self-respect for the human body and spirit."

Layden further writes that the minimal user of pornography also shows signs of significant negative impact, including no conception of healthy sexuality, degrading behavior, damage to the general respect of women, inability to be intimate in healthy ways, and inability to interact with women in a professional environment in respectful ways and even sexual harassment on the job. Layden further writes, "Pornography is also hate speech about men. The sex industry spreads the myth that male sexuality is viciously narcissistic, predatory and out of control, It is not just strippers who come to think of all men as sexual "pond-scum". This myth about men makes it difficult for women to give men the trust and respect that they are due and damages the image that men have of themselves and of male sexuality."

Studies have found significant changes in beliefs when subjects have been shown pornography. According to Dr.Layden, few of the pornography viewers come to believe that unusual sex behavior even psychiatrically disordered behavior is more common and this includes behaviors such as having sex with animals and mixing sex with violence.

According to the article in journal Pediatrics, research found that pornography and listening to music with degrading sexual lyrics is related to advances in a range of sexual activities among adolescents.

McGuire in his study Sexual Deviation as Conditioned Behavior, writes that "as a man repeatedly masturbates to a vivid sexual fantasy as his exclusive outlet (introduced by a real life experience or possibly pornography), the pleasurable experiences endow the deviant fantasy (rape, molesting children, injuring one's partner while having sex, etc.) with increasing erotic value. The orgasm experienced then provides the critical reinforcing event for the conditioning of the fantasy preceding or accompanying the act."

Prostitution and Sex Trafficking

Studies have also linked pornography with sexual trafficking.

American sex abuse expert Dr. Mary Anne Layden, a psychotherapist at the University of Pennsylvania, has testified before the US Senate on the dangers of online porn, gleaned from her experience treating sexual violence victims and perpetrators for 20 years. Layden said,

The connection to sex trafficking is that increased use of pornography leads to increased demand for prostitution. When demand outstripped supply of local prostitutes, women and children were brought in from overseas, often against their will.

In countries like Australia when prostitution has been legalised, there is a corresponding increase in sex trafficking because, says Layden, "we don't have enough women to meet the increased demand".

Melissa Farley, “Renting an Organ for Ten Minutes: What Tricks Tell Us About Prostitution, Pornography, and Trafficking,” in Pornography: Driving the Demand in International Sex Trafficking writes,—

Interviews with 854 women in prostitution in 9 countries…made it clear that

pornography is integral to prostitution. In 9 countries, almost half (49%) told us that pornography was made of them while they were in prostitution. Forty-seven percent of our respondents were upset by tricks’ attempts to make them do what the tricks had

previously seen in pornography.

Jan Macleod, Melissa Farley, Lynn Anderson and Jacqueline Golding, in their study Challenging Men's Demand for Prostitution in Scotland, published that, "Those who were the most frequent users of pornography were also the most frequent users of women in prostitution."

Martin Monto and Nick McRee, in their research published in [[International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology]] wrote,

Repeat users reported greater participation in all aspects of the sex industry than did non-customers.

They were much more likely to report having purchased sexually explicit

magazines or videos, and they were more than twice as likely to have visited nude establishments.

The study, Facilitator's guide to Prostitution: a matter of violence against women published by the organization WHISPER (Women Hurt in Systems of Prostitution Engaged in Revolt) reported,

• 80% of prostitution survivors at the WHISPER Oral History Project reported that their customers showed them pornography to illustrate the kinds of sexual activities in which they wanted to engage in.
• 52% of the women stated that pornography played a significant role in teaching them what was expected of them as prostitutes.
• 30% reported that their pimps regularly exposed them to pornography in order to indoctrinate them into an acceptance of the practices depicted.

According to several studies and surveys, Prostitutes have reported that men want to act out what they see in pornography. In the article, Prostitution: A Critical Review of the Medical and Social Sciences Literature, Melissa Farley and Vanessa Kelly wrote,

Women in prostitution have described pornography’s role in their being coerced by pimps or customers to enact specific scenes… Customers show women pornography to illustrate what they want…Thirty-two percent of 130 people in one study had been upset by an attempt to coerce them into performing what customers had seen in pornography.

The studies conducted by M. Silbert and A. Pines also say that customers porn-inspired behavior on prostitutes.

Notes

1. ^ Vernon J. Geberth. "An Interview with Vernon J. Geberth". {{cite web}}: Check |authorlink= value (help); External link in |authorlink= (help)
2. "Roger Young: 'I liken Internet pornography to a ballistic missile ...'". Retrieved 2008-10-25. I would not say that every single pornography business is involved with organized crime, but there are definitely those businesses that are directly owned, or directly involved with organized crime, making large profits.
3. "Robert Young". Retrieved 2008-10-25. here have been several instances where residual crimes in a particular area decreased up to thirty-three percent after the city or county enacted an "adult use" zoning ordinance that forced sexually oriented businesses to move out of the area. Obscenity in "adult businesses" attracts individuals involved in other crimes (drugs, prostitution, indecency, rape, etc.) that also hurt the community.
4. ^ "If pornography made us healthy, we would be healthy by now". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
5. Douglas, John E. (1997). Journey Into Darkness. Scribner. pp. p.304. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
6. Michaud, Stephen G. (2000). The Evil That Men Do. St. Martin's Press. p. 71. ISBN 9780312970604. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
7. Marshall, W. L. (1990). Criminal Neglect: Why Sex Offenders Go Free. Doubleday Canada. pp. p.129. ISBN 9780385252515. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
8. ^ Reisman, Judith A. "Pornography's link to rape". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
9. Silbert, Mimi H. (June, 1984). "Pornography and sexual abuse of women". Sex Roles. 10 (11–12). Springer Netherlands: pp.857-868. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
10. Shapiro, Ben (2005). Porn Generation. Regnery Publishing. pp. p.160. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
11. Peters, Robert. "Could it be that pornography prevents rape?". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
12. "Roger Young: 'I liken Internet pornography to a ballistic missile ...'". Retrieved 2008-10-25. I wish I could get across to more people how many parents I've sat with whose children have been affected by this -- not to mention, in Las Vegas, the one or two wives a year who would have the courage to call or come into the FBI office and talk to me, and say, "Can't you do something about this pornography store? My husband is spending all kinds of money there, it's affecting our family." Most of them ended up divorcing because their husbands became so involved that it tore the family apart. Most of them ended up divorcing because their husbands became so involved that it tore the family apart.
13. "Roger Young: 'I liken Internet pornography to a ballistic missile ...'".
14. "If pornography made us healthy, we would be healthy by now". Retrieved 2008-10-25.
15. ^ The effects of Pornography: An International Perspective
16. ObscenityCrimes.org
17. Berl Kutchinsky: Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark
18. Malamuth, Neil M.: "Do Sexually Violent Media Indirectly Contribute to Antisocial Behavior?", , page 10
19. Zillmann, Dolf: "Effects of Prolonged Consumption of Pornography",
20. Martino, Steven C. (August 2006). "Exposure to Degrading Versus Nondegrading Music Lyrics and Sexual Behavior Among Youth". PEDIATRICS. 118 (2). {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
21. R.J. McGuire (1965). "Sexual Deviation as Conditioned Behavior". Behavior Research and Therapy. 2: p. 185. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
22. "Sexual Deviation: Paraphilias". Comprehensive Handbook of Psychopathology. Springer US. pp. 749–773.
23. Peters, Robert W. (October 2008). "Sexual Trafficking and Pornography: The Link Between the Two" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-11-01. At both the federal and state levels, law enforcement agents and prosecutors are working hard to stop sexual trafficking. In large measure, these individuals are also turning a blind eye towards the ever-expanding problem of "adult" obscenity that helps stimulate the demand for both adult and child prostitutes. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 97 (help)
24. ^ "Online porn addiction turns our kids into victims and predators". The Sun-Herald. 2005-08-14. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
25. Farley, Melissa (2007). "Renting an Organ for Ten Minutes: What Tricks Tell Us About Prostitution, Pornography, and Trafficking". Pornography: Driving the Demand in International Sex Trafficking. Captive Daughters Media. pp. p.145. ISBN 9781425758905. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)
26. ^ Macleod, Jan (April 2008). "Challenging Men's Demand for Prostitution in Scotland" (PDF). Rape Crisis Scotland. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
27. Monto, Martin (2005). "A Comparison of the Male Customers of Female Street Prostitutes With National Samples of Men". International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. 49 (5): 505–529. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
28. Farley, Dr.Melissa (2000-02-04). "Prostitution: Factsheet on Human Rights Violations". Prostitution Research & Education. Retrieved 2008-11-19.
29. Farley, Melissa (8/4/2000). "Prostitution: A Critical Review of the Medical and Social Sciences Literature" (PDF). Women and Criminal Justice. 11 (4). ISSN 0897-4454. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
30. Silbert, Mimi H. (June, 1984). "Pornography and sexual abuse of women". Sex Roles. 10 (11–12). Springer Netherlands: pp.857-868. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Further reading

• Berl Kutchinsky: Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark (New Social Science Monographs, Denmark 1970)
• Berl Kutchinsky: Law, pornography, and crime: The Danish experience (Pax Forlag, Oslo 1999)
• Gert Martin Hald: Pornography Consumption - a study of prevalence rates, consumption patterns, and effects (Psykologisk Institut, Aarhus Universitet, Denmark 2007)
• Gert Martin Hald & Neil M. Malamuth: Self-Perceived Effects of Pornography Consumption (Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2008)

External links

• - "Porno: why? how?" - psychoanalytical and sociopsychological analysis
• Report of the Surgeon General's Workshop on Pornography and Public Health, United States Public Health Service, Office of the Surgeon General, August 4, 1986

• Criminology
• Pornography
• Social psychology