(HSI) Ethos Institute’s Youth research & Development wing, More Love, has been in the field of research of Youth and sexual behaviour for the last twelve years. This article is excerpts of a research paper published by them.
The shocking reality of pervasive pornography in our society:
• More than 80% of Indian high school students have been exposed to porn. [The New Indian Express, July 30, 2013]
• India is rated #2 for searching the word ‘sex’ on the internet, after Pakistan. [Family Safe Media]
• 30% of all data transferred across the internet is porn. 70% of men watch it, while 30% of women do. [Zee News India, May 5, 2013]
• A year long survey found that 75% of pre-university students in rural areas of India were addicted to porn. [The Indian Express, 2-27-13]
• In a survey of 300 children under the age of 13 in India, 67% admitted to accessing porn sites, most by their cell phones. [Cathnews India, October 12, 2011]
• A recent survey by IMRB reveals more shocking details – One of every five mobile users in India wants adult content on his 3G-enabled phone. Pornography web sites rank among the most popular in India.
CONSIDER THIS: 
The porn industry earnings are over $100 Billion/ year! Pornography addiction has been described as a behavioural addiction characterized by compulsive, repeated use of pornographic material until it causes serious negative consequences to one’s physical, mental, social, and/or financial well-being.
Addiction to Internet pornography is also a form of cybersex addiction.
Problematic Internet pornography viewing is viewing of Internet pornography that is problematic for an individual for personal or social reasons, or reasons such as time spent viewing or viewing in problematic situations.
Individuals may report depression, social isolation, career loss or decreased productivity, and financial consequences as a result of their problematic Internet pornography viewing.
Five Stages of Addiction
Early exposure: Most people who get addicted to porn start early. They view pornography when they are very young; the exposure and tolerance starts early.
Addiction: Later comes addiction. You keep coming back to porn. It becomes a regular part of your life. You’re hooked. You can’t quit.
Escalation: After a while, escalation begins. You start to look for more and more graphic porn. You start using porn that would have disgusted you when you started. Now it excites you.
Desensitization: Eventually, you start to become numb. Even the most graphic, degrading porn doesn’t excite you anymore. You become desperate to feel the same thrill again but can’t find it.
Acting out sexually: At this point, many men make a dangerous jump and start acting out sexually. They move from the paper and plastic images of porn to the real world.
Pornography and Rape
While the crime of rape has always existed, there however now exists an epidemic of rapes crimes, no matter how tough the laws against this crime may be. If such harsh punishments such as the death penalty and life sentences are not stopping people from committing this crime, then there has to be a greater reason as to why men rape women.
Why aren’t they able to contain themselves and what is it that is compelling them to rape? Is there something happening in the brain of the user of pornography?
When a man watches porn, he objectifies a woman rather than appreciating her as a person. He would then attempt to use a woman as a means to his end for sexual gratification.
Several studies have shown that portrayals of women enjoying rape and other kinds of sexual violence in media can lead to increased acceptance of rape myths in both males and females.
Research indicates that many of the youth in India who have been engaged in pornography, have acted out on innocent victims to the point of molesting and raping them. There have been several instances of men acting out on their wives, what they saw during pornography, thus treating their wives as sex objects, and as a commodity. This family situation contributes to separation and divorce.
Watching Pornography essentially desensitizes one to sexual violence and cruelty and aggravates the violent behaviours
A porn addict said this: When I personally got to the “acting out phase,” I started fantasizing about what it would be like to actually rape a woman. I finally tried it one night when I saw a woman who “fit” the scenario that porn had taught me to look for. I was lucky, very lucky I didn’t go through with it.
After being reported, arrested and spending some time in jail, I finally was able to begin the process of weeding out the lies in my life that porn had put there. Other men aren’t so lucky. I realize now that with just a little push, I could have gone over the edge. I could have raped that woman and then killed her to cover my tracks.
Pornography essentially desensitizes us to sexual violence and cruelty, even when the pornography is considered “non-violent” in nature. Unfortunately, aggression is common in pornography today. A 2000 study discovered the presence of violence in 42% of online pornography.
Today, it is not uncommon for even the youngest Internet users to be exposed to graphic material. By the age of 18, for instance, 39% of boys and 23% of girls have seen acts of sex involving bondage online.
Who is to blame for this culture? Society? Media? Misogynist culture?
MEDIA: When our culture sells a product through suggestive sexual advertising, where a woman is almost always portrayed as a sex object – an object of lust instead of as an person of love and rather than a human being, it actually strips the virtue of a woman.
MISOGYNY: mɪˈsɒdʒɪni/ is the hatred or dislike of women or girls. Misogyny can be manifested in numerous ways, including sexual discrimination, violence against women, and sexual objectification of women.
MISOGNIST MEN: Men rape women for various reasons. When men gang-rape women, these men bring together with their collective frustrations of life, their delusions about sexuality, their anger towards women etc. We need to engage with these men about what warrants them to commit these crimes. Hanging the perpetrators of rape will never bring a stop to the rape crimes against women.
Pornography is playing havoc in the minds of its users creating a generation of men who see women as objects to be used and abused and the end result of it is sexual violence and rape. But it also has many other dimensions of mental health issues, crumbling families and increasing gender discrimination. We need to fight this onslaught of pornography by sensitising our youth, taking tough measures, banning pornography and teaching this generation to see man and woman as created equal by the Creator. We need to give education to men and women, that they are equals to be respected and treated with dignity. Any portrayal or understanding of woman as an object or commodity to be used/ abused is to be rejected and value and dignity restored to womanhood.
We all have an obligation to morality and only then, morality will see what the consequences for justice are. It is our hope that we, the nation of India will take a strong stand against the assault on our consciences through pornography which tears the very fibre of our humanity.
Refer to complete article on http://dominicdixon.net for citations.
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