Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
83% of active 2020 sex trafficking cases involved online solicitation, which is overwhelmingly the most common tactic traffickers use to solicit sex buyers.
According to a 2018 study of "child porn" victims, survivors reported that the images of their abuse caused different problems than the sexual abuse itself, including distress over being recognized from the images.
The Internet Watch Foundation recently reported that during 2020, approximately 44% of all child sexual abuse material reported to the IWF involved self-generated material. That’s a 16% increase from 2019 when only a third of reports involved self-generated imagery.
1 in 12 U.S. adults report that they have been victims of image-based abuse —sometimes called “revenge porn—and 1 in 20 report that they have been perpetrators of image-based abuse.
Longitudinal, qualitative research has found that young people's narratives surrounding anal sex often encourage coercion, pain, and other risky behaviors, and that they often attribute these narratives to pornography, as it can normalize sexual behaviors and attitudes.
In one survey of underage sex trafficking victims, 63% said they had been advertised or sold online.
Research shows that women are almost always the targets of violence or aggression in porn —about 97% of the time.
Of domestic minor trafficking victims who had been forced into porn production, the average age they began being filmed was 12.8 years old.
LGBTQ+ youth who are rejected because of their sexual orientation or gender identity are particularly vulnerable to potential psychological/emotional manipulation by traffickers or predators who may take advantage of them.
According to an analysis of over 130,000 porn titles, “teen” is the most common word used in porn titles.
Research suggests that frequent porn consumers are more likely to express an intent to rape.
While not all porn features physical violence, even non-violent porn has been shown to be associated with negative effects like increased sexual aggression
Fight the New Drug, PO Box 57126, Salt Lake City, UT 84157 | Fight the New Drug is a part of the PHASE Alliance™.
© 2026 All rights Reserved. Fight the New Drug is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 26-3550143
