Porn, Sex Trafficking, and Love
Society and the media have normalized the consumption of pornography. Every month, Pornhub is viewed 3.5 million times and 570,000 videos are uploaded to the site. In fact, some people go so far as to deem porn “empowering” to its actors and its viewers.
However, things are very different behind the scenes. Rape scenes, hidden-camera sex/nudity scenes, and underage activity plague the site. Even videos that do not seem like planned rape scenes often contain actors who are trafficked and forced into performing under camera. Many people have no clue what they are actually watching.
For instance, a recent New York Times article reported on the case of a 14 year old girl who sent naked videos to her boyfriend who then went on to post them online without permission. Despite her parents convincing Pornhub to remove the videos, students at her school had already downloaded the videos off the internet and continued to re-upload them. She faced bullying in school, which eventually caused her to skip school and attempt suicide multiple times. Often, as is the case with this teenage girl, victims are forced into having abortions when they become pregnant.
Unfortunately, these are not merely isolated cases. To learn more about the prevalence of incidents like these, I investigated Pornhub myself. I searched ‘12yo’ (an abbreviated form of ‘12 years old’) on Pornhub and got over 150,000 results. ‘High School’ has over 2,000 videos. A search for ‘Braces’ yields over 1,000 videos and an account titled ‘New Teen Videos’ has over 2.3 million video views. Sadly, a video titled ‘Schoolgirl f*cked by her PE teacher’ has nearly 4 million views. (Typically, the term ‘schoolgirl’ refers to girls in elementary or intermediate school.)
Porn is not only damaging to its young actors, but also has long-lasting effects on viewers. A 2015 meta analysis of 22 studies from 7 countries concluded that porn consumption is a key factor that contributes to verbal and sexual assault. Pornography also does significant harm to relationships. A 2002 survey of divorce attorneys found that porn use contributed to over half of the divorce cases. Another study showed that the chances of divorce more than double when one or both partners start viewing porn. Reddit community “r/loveafterporn” highlights porn’s lethal effect on relationships. This online community serves as a support group for romantic partners of porn addicts. Many members confess stories of their partners spending time on porn instead of with them and their children. Others describe stories of their spouse treating them like a porn star, pressuring them into taking part in certain unhealthy, violent sexual fantasies that online porn has sparked.
Fortunately, the public is beginning to take notice of these issues. Survivors of the porn industry are speaking up and raising awareness of their treatment. 2.1 million people have signed a petition to remove Pornhub from the internet. This past March, Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) called on the US Department of Justice to investigate pornhub. The Arizona Senate approved a resolution declaring porn a public health crisis and calling for ways to prevent exposure to porn by young kids online. As part of this resolution, Arizona Senator Sylvia Allen blamed porn for contributing for sexual violence and unintended pregnancies. Fifteen other states have also declared porn a public health crisis for similar reasons. This increased public awareness has caused Pornhub to make significant changes. On December 8th, they announced that they will ban downloads and limit video uploads to verified users. On December 14th, the website announced that it would ban unverified users from uploading videos. It also cut the number of videos on the site from 13.5 to 3 million (a 78% decrease).
I am confident that the increasing public awareness of these issues will continue to spark conversations on the hidden dangers of the porn industry. As members of the pro-life generation, it is imperative that we recognize and call out these dangers, for they tarnish and imperil the dignity of human life that we are called to defend and uplift.
-Dominic Parente (Off-Campus Service Chair, COL ‘22)
