Fast Facts Archive - Page 3 of 11 - Fight the New Drug™

(Donevan, Jonsson, & Svedin, 2025)

According to a study that interviewed former performers, the majority experienced abuse and exploitation in the porn industry including verbal abuse (87%), rape (65%), physical assault (56%), third-party control (56%), and online harassment (57%).

Citations

Donevan, M., Jonsson, L. S., & Svedin, C. G. (2025). The experience of individuals filmed for pornography production: A history of continuous polyvictimization and ongoing mental health challenges. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 79(2), 156–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2025.2464634

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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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(Polaris, 2022)

Pornography is the 2nd-most common form of sex trafficking, according to cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Citations

Polaris. (2022). Analysis of 2021 data from the National Human Trafficking Hotline. Retrieved from https://polarisproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Polaris-Analysis-of-2021-Data-from-the-National-Human-Trafficking-Hotline.pdf

How Porn Can Fuel Sex Trafficking

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(Wright, Tokunaga, & Kraus, 2016; Mori et al., 2023)

While not all porn features physical violence, even non-violent porn has been shown to be associated with negative effects like increased sexual aggression

Citations

Wright, P. J., Tokunaga, R. S., & Kraus, A. (2016). A meta-analysis of pornography consumption and actual acts of sexual aggression in general population studies. Journal of Communication, 66(1), 183-205. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12201
Mori, C., Park, J., Racine, N., Ganshorn, H., Hartwick, C., & Madigan, S. (2023). Exposure to sexual content and problematic sexual behaviors in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child Abuse & Neglect, 143, 106255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106255

How Porn Can Promote Sexual Violence

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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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(Wéry & Billieux, 2016)

In a 2016 study, researchers found that 46.9% of respondents reported that, over time, they began watching pornography that had previously disinterested or even disgusted them.

Citations

Wéry, A., & Billieux, J. (2016). Online sexual activities: An exploratory study of problematic and non-problematic usage patterns in a sample of men. Computers in Human Behavior, 56, 257-266. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.046

How Porn Can Become An Escalating Behavior

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(Young, 2013)

Research assessing the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in treating porn addiction found that “over 95% of clients were able to manage symptoms at the end of the twelve weeks and 78% sustained recovery six months following treatment.”

Citations

Young K. S. (2013). Treatment outcomes using CBT-IA with Internet-addicted patients. Journal of behavioral addictions, 2(4), 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1556/JBA.2.2013.4.3

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(Gilliland, South, Carpenter, & Hardy, 2011)

Research shows that while feeling guilt can motivate healthy change, feeling shame actually fuels problematic porn habits.

Citations

Gilliland, R., South, M., Carpenter, B. N., & Hardy, S. A. (2011). The roles of shame and guilt in hypersexual behavior. 18(1), 12-29. doi:10.1080/10720162.2011.551182

Fighting Against Both Porn & Shame Is More Than Possible, It’s Necessary

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(Rothman, Kaczmarsky, Burke, Jansen, & Baughman, 2015)

Findings of a qualitative study indicated that teens often reported trying to copy porn in their own sexual encounters, and that the pressure to imitate porn was often an aspect of unhealthy relationships.

Citations

Rothman, E. F., Kaczmarsky, C., Burke, N., Jansen, E., & Baughman, A. (2015). 'Without Porn … I Wouldn't Know Half the Things I Know Now': A Qualitative Study of Pornography Use Among a Sample of Urban, Low-Income, Black and Hispanic Youth. Journal of sex research, 52(7), 736–746. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2014.960908

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(Crosby & Twohig, 2016)

Problematic porn consumers who are treated using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy show a 92% reduction in porn consumption, and an 86% reduction three months later.

Citations

Crosby, J. M., & Twohig, M. P. (2016). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Problematic Internet Pornography Use: A Randomized Trial. Behavior therapy, 47(3), 355–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2016.02.001

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(Park, Wilson, Berger, Christman, Reina, Bishop, Klam, & Doan, 2016; Sun, Bridges, Johnson, & Ezzell, 2016)

Some frequent porn consumers can become so accustomed to the exaggerated forms of sex they see in porn, that they may have a difficult time becoming aroused in real-life sexual encounters unless porn is also present.

Citations

Park, B. Y., Wilson, G., Berger, J., Christman, M., Reina, B., Bishop, F., Klam, W. P., & Doan, A. P. (2016). Is Internet Pornography Causing Sexual Dysfunctions? A Review with Clinical Reports. Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 6(3), 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs6030017
Sun, C., Bridges, A., Johnson, J. A., & Ezzell, M. B. (2016). Pornography and the male sexual script: An analysis of consumption and sexual relations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(4), 983-994. doi:10.1007/s10508-014-0391-2

How Porn Can Harm Consumers’ Sex Lives

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(Kühn & Gallinat, 2014)

A 2014 brain-imaging study found that men who reported watching more pornography had less gray matter in a brain region involved in reward processing, reduced responses to sexual cues, and weaker connectivity with the prefrontal cortex.

Citations

Kühn, S., & Gallinat, J. (2014). Brain structure and functional connectivity associated with pornography consumption: The brain on porn. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(7), 827–834. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.93

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