ADULT PRONOGRAPHY HARMS CHILDREN TOO.

Protecting children from sexual exploitation is a priority for many government agencies and private bodies today, but not enough is being done to deal with the threat to children from the dangers of adult pornography.

A non-profit organization based in New York City, published a study in September titled, "How Adult Pornography Contributes To Sexual Exploitation of Children." Government agencies and private groups are ignoring the consequences of what they term an "explosion" of hardcore adult pornography on the Internet and elsewhere.

Adult porn is a menace for children in a number of ways, the report contends:

-- Perpetrators use adult pornography to groom their victims;

-- For many perpetrators there is a progression from viewing adult pornography to viewing child pornography;

-- Men act out with child prostitutes what they view in adult pornography, and pimps use adult pornography to instruct child prostitutes;

-- Children imitate behavior they view in adult pornography with other children;

-- Addiction to adult pornography destroys marriages, and children raised in one-parent households are more likely to be sexually exploited.

Grooming
The report's author, Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media, explains that a couple of decades ago, in his research into court cases, he came across multiple examples of situations involving sexual exploitation of children in which an adult defendant had shown or given adult pornography to the child victim as part of the grooming process.

The use of adult pornography by predators to arouse and desensitize their child victims is one way in which adult pornography contributes to harm.

More than 100 pages of excerpts from news articles and court cases that refer to how a perpetrator showed or gave pornography to a child or forced the child to watch it.

Men who are addicted to pornography require more explicit and deviant kinds of sexual material as time goes on, just as is the case with those afflicted with drug addictions. Thus, over time there is an increasing need for more of the stimulant to get the same initial effect.

There is an increasing tendency to act out sexually the behaviors viewed in the pornography. So users of pornography are not only passive consumers, but tend to act out the behaviors seen.

Media threats
When it comes to children themselves, if a child were to walk into an adult bookstore, then he would be told to leave, as it is against the law to sell pornography to children in the physical world.

By contrast, if that same child were to "click" to most commercial Web sites that distribute adult pornography, it is possible to view hardcore adult pornography free of charge, and without restriction.

Most children can still access the Internet outside the home or by means of mobile devices. All it takes is one child in a group of friends to have unrestricted access to the Internet for all to have access.

One of the conclusions of the report is a request that churches and other religious organizations do more to confront the adult pornography problem. Pornography is a problem not only for many who do not attend religious service, but also for those of all ages who do attend.

Family life
The possibility to access pornography through computers and phones has removed the so-called barrier to entry, that is, the embarrassment of a visit to a sex shop to buy a magazine or video.

There is a fair proportion of women who see their husband’s porn use as an infidelity," Even when he is being honest about it, some women see porn use to be a kind of adultery.

The link between the multibillion-dollar porn industry and sexual appetite has become like the relationship between super-size portions and obesity.

"The ubiquity of sexual images does not free the power of Eros, but dilutes it."

****He observed that sexual assaults are now committed by younger assailants against younger victims. Moreover, a survey he carried out among students at the University of Ottawa in Canada found that the average age at which they first looked at pornography was 13. Among those whose parents kept pornography in the home, the age was lower, between 10 and 11, he noted.



Poulin also cited a survey showing that one in five men aged 22-23 admitted being sexually attracted to 13-year-old girls. "This is not a trivial trend," he said.



Healthy environment



Benedict XVI addressed the issue of pornography in his April 16 address to American bishops during his visit to the United States last year.


"Children deserve to grow up with a healthy understanding of sexuality and its proper place in human relationships," he recommended.. "They should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today."



Children have a right to be educated in authentic moral values that are based on the dignity of the human person, the Pontiff continued.



"What does it mean to speak of child protection when pornography and violence can be viewed in so many homes through media widely available today?" he questioned.



To deal with this problem the Pope spoke of the need to urgently assess the values that are guiding society today. If we really care about young people we will all recognize our responsibility to promote and live by authentic moral values, which will enable all people to flourish, he concluded.



A timely reminder of the dangers of turning a blind eye to a problem that too often is ignored.