Fast Facts

(Gewirtz-Meydan, Walsh, Wolak, & Finkelhor, 2018)

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.

Citations

Gewirtz-Meydan, A., Walsh, W., Wolak, J., & Finkelhor, D. (2018). The complex experience of child pornography survivors. Child abuse & neglect, 80, 238–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.03.031

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(Donevan, 2021)

Qualitative research with current and former porn performers suggests that sexual exploitation and trafficking are common experiences in the porn industry.

Citations

Donevan, M. (2021). “In this industry, you're no longer human”: An exploratory study of women’s experiences in pornography production in Sweden. Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence. 6(3) doi:10.23860/dignity.2021.06.03.01

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(Keller & Dance, 2019)

Child sexual abuse material (also known as child pornography) is a more rampant issue than ever before, and is growing at alarming rates

Citations

Keller, M. H., & Dance, G. J. X. (2019). The internet is overrun with images of child sexual abuse. What went wrong?. New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/28/us/child-sex-abuse.html

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(Feehs & Wheeler, 2021)

65% of underage victims recruited online in 2020 active criminal sex trafficking cases were recruited through Facebook, while 14% were recruited through Instagram, and 8% were recruited through Snapchat.

Citations

Feehs, K., & Wheeler, A. C. (2021). 2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report. Human Trafficking Institute. Retrieved from https://www.traffickinginstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/2020-Federal-Human-Trafficking-Report-Low-Res.pdf

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(International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, 2017; Lanning, 2010)

Reports show that those who sexually abuse children often show their victims porn to groom them or normalize sexual abuse.

Citations

International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children. (2017). Online grooming of children for sexual purposes: Model legislation & global review. ( No. 1). Retrieved from https://www.icmec.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Online-Grooming-of-Children_FINAL_9-18-17.pdf
Lanning, K. V. (2010). Child molesters: A behavioral analysis for professionals investigating the sexual exploitation of children. (No. 5). National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Retrieved from https://www.missingkids.org/content/dam/missingkids/pdfs/publications/nc70.pdf

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(Vera-Gray, McGlynn, Kureshi, & Butterby, 2021)

Research indicates that “hidden cam” videos are a common theme on porn sites, making it difficult to determine which videos are consensual and which are not.

Citations

Vera-Gray, F., McGlynn, C., Kureshi, I., & Butterby, K. (2021). Sexual violence as a sexual script in mainstream online pornography. The British Journal of Criminology, doi:10.1093/bjc/azab035

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(Taylor & Shrive, 2021)

According to a UK survey of over 22,000 adult women, 16% reported having been forced or coerced to perform sex acts the other person had seen in porn.

Citations

Taylor, J., & Shrive, J. (2021). ‘I thought it was just a part of life’: Understanding the scale of violence committed against women in the UK since birth. VictimFocus. Retrieved from https://irp.cdn-website.com/f9ec73a4/files/uploaded/Key-Facts-Document-VAWG-VictimFocus-2021a.pdf

How Porn Can Promote Sexual Violence

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(Fritz, Malic, Paul, & Zhou, 2021)

A 2021 study analyzed videos from popular porn sites and found that porn featuring Black people tends to perpetuate harmful racist stereotypes, disproportionately emphasize violence and aggression, and often depicts Black people as “worse than objects.”

Citations

Fritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2021). Worse than objects: The depiction of Black women and men and their sexual relationship in pornography. Gender Issues, 38(1), 100-120. doi:10.1007/s12147-020-09255-2

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(Wright, Paul, & Herbenick, 2021)

According to a nationally representative survey of U.S. teens, 84.4% of 14 to 18-year-old males and 57% of 14 to 18-year-old females have viewed pornography.

Citations

Wright, P. J., Paul, B., & Herbenick, D. (2021). Preliminary insights from a U.S. probability sample on adolescents’ pornography exposure, media psychology, and sexual aggression. J.Health Commun., 26(1), 39-46. doi:10.1080/10810730.2021.1887980

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(Thorn, 2020)

1 in 3 underage teens report having seen nonconsensually shared nudes of other minors —which is legally considered “child pornography”.

Citations

Thorn. (2020). Thorn research: Understanding sexually explicit images, self-produced by children. Retrieved from https://www.thorn.org/blog/thorn-research-understanding-sexually-explicit-images-self-produced-by-children/

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(Thorn, 2020)

According to a 2020 report, approximately 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 10 boys aged 13-17 report sharing their own nudes, despite the fact that those images are legally considered “child pornography”.

Citations

Thorn. (2020). Thorn research: Understanding sexually explicit images, self-produced by children. Retrieved from https://www.thorn.org/blog/thorn-research-understanding-sexually-explicit-images-self-produced-by-children/

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(Sun, Wright, & Steffen, 2017)

Research suggests that porn can influence women to be more submissive in sexual encounters.

Citations

Sun, C. F., Wright, P., & Steffen, N. (2017). German Heterosexual Women’s Pornography Consumption and Sexual Behavior. Sexualization, Media, & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/2374623817698113

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