Encouraging developments in the fight against pornography

Dear Friend of the Family,

There wasn’t even standing room available at the forum Family Watch recently chaired at the World Congress of Families in Salt Lake City. Every inch of space was taken, and an overflow room where the proceedings were broadcast was also filled to capacity, and many were turned away.

So what was so important that people flocked to hear?  
It was the screening of our documentary, “The Porn Pandemic: The Devastating Effects on Children, Families and Societies.” Our film was as well received in Salt Lake City as it has been around the world.  If you have not yet viewed it, we urge you to do so.
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Also drawing the crowd to our forum were the outstanding presentations by Dr. Jill Manning on the “Impact of Pornography on Wives,” and by Dawn Hawkins of the National Center to End Exploitation.

This strong interest in our forum on pornography at the World Congress demonstrates the growing concern worldwide regarding the harmful impact of pornography on children and families.

The evidence of this great harm continues to mount.  

An excellent report just released by the American College of Pediatricians (ACOP) “The Impact of Pornography on Children”  is a must read for everyone. ACOP is an outstanding group of physicians and health professionals who are taking strong, medically and scientifically based positions on a range of issues affecting children and adolescents. We have worked closely with them on a number of issues over the years. Their report outlines some of the research showing that when males watch porn they tend to:

• ·         Change their views on the seriousness of the crime of rape to be more accepting of it
• ·         Develop a more callous attitude towards women generally
• ·         Experience less interest in marriage and greater acceptance of infidelity in marriage
• ·         Have an increased interest in deviant sexual activity
• ·         Have less interest in having children
• ·         Have an increasingly accepting attitude toward promiscuity
• ·         Experience lower satisfaction with their current sexual partner
• and more.

The report also summarizes changes in brain structure and function in those who view pornography and underscores the evidence showing the addictive nature of porn.

There is also growing evidence that children are being exposed to pornography at ever younger ages.   Some of this exposure, unfortunately, is coming in schools as a result of the growing incorporation of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) around the world that inappropriately sexualizes young children. In fact, just this week it was reported that a school in California had placed pornographic paintings depicting vulgar sex acts in bathrooms and all around the school.

Once images like these enter a child’s brain, it is very difficult, if not near impossible, to erase them from the brain.

With regard to Internet porn, the porn industry overall has reported declining profits in recent years, but this is not good news.   Revenues are falling largely because of the increasing availability of free porn. It is literally only a few keystrokes away for any child with access to the Internet.

As the ACOP study reports, “Pornography exposure for children and adolescents has become almost ubiquitous.” They cite one British study that found that nearly a third of the students surveyed reported that their first exposure to pornography was when they were 10 years old or younger.

The ACOP report concludes:

Consumption of pornography is associated with many negative emotional, psychological and physical health outcomes.   These include increased rates of depression, anxiety, acting out and violent behavior, younger age of sexual debut, sexual promiscuity, increased risk of teen pregnancy, and a distorted view of relationships between men and women.   For adults, pornography results in an increased likelihood of divorce, which is also harmful to children. The American College of Pediatricians urges healthcare professionals to communicate the risks of pornography use to patients and their families and to offer resources both to protect children from viewing pornography and to treat individuals suffering from its negative effects.

So what can you do?

We have three suggestions for how you can help combat pornography:

1.  Go to your school and find out what your children are being exposed to in the school environment there or in the books or curricula they receive. Organize parents to remove anything pornographic.

2.  Send the link to PornPandemic.org to as many people as possible, and encourage them to watch it to learn about the negative impacts of porn and what they can do to help end this pandemic.
3.  If you haven’t purchased “Stand for the Family” get your copy and read the chapter on “Pornography’s Assault on the Family,” which has specific steps you can take to protect your family from porn. If you already have the book, consider buying it as a holiday gift for someone you love. There are substantial discounts for purchases of 3 or more copies.