HOW PORN KILLS KIDS

A study of convicted child molesters revealed that of those who molested girls, 87 percent admitted that they were in the habit of using pornography in committing their crimes. Those who molested boys, and admitted the same, accounted for 77 percent of the group.

Cybersex and cyberporn, have become the latest craze globally and their popularity continues to soar daily, as the billion-dollar porn industry, boasting over 260,000,000 web pages, persists unabated, unleashing an aura of perversion, lust and violence in sex. Pornographic images range from nudity (partial or complete) to hardcore — oral sex, vaginal and anal penetration and many other variations, including rape, mutilation and other forms of sex-related violence. Also included in their damnable exhibits are animals, toys, objects of restraint and other items which would not normally be associated with the sexual experience.

Pornography has many ugly faces, but perhaps the most grotesque of all, are the images of innocent children being used as sex slaves, in magazines, television, videos and most prevalently, the Internet. These children are viciously exploited and robbed of their innocence by mean-hearted savages, whose perverse mentalities find it not strange to do the unimaginable with those tiny bodies. Despite the fact that child pornography is illegal globally, there were in 2002, over 100,000 child porn Web sites. (Red Hearing Magazine 1/18/02). That figure continues to rapidly increase. According to the Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe — approximately 20 new children appear on porn sites every month. Many of them have been victims of kidnapping and/or were sold into sex. Let’s take a look at some of the damnable evils of pornography, as they affect children.

• Child Molestation: Child pornography is the appetiser that precedes a main course of child molestation. It is used by paedophiles as a stimulant. A study of convicted child molesters revealed that of those who molested girls, 87 percent admitted that they were in the habit of using pornography in committing their crimes. Those who molested boys, and admitted the same, accounted for 77 percent of the group. Additionally, paedophiles use pornographic images in an effort to arouse the child and present the sexual activity as being enjoyable. (Take Action Manual, Washington DC: Enough is Enough).

• Imitation: Children often imitate what they have seen, read or heard. Studies suggest that exposure to pornography can prompt kids to act out sexually against younger, smaller or more vulnerable children. Experts in the field of childhood sexual abuse report that any premature sexual activity in children always suggests two possible stimulants: experience or exposure. This means that a sexually deviant child may have been molested or exposed to sexuality through pornography.

• Rape and Sexual Violence: Research shows a direct correlation between early exposure to pornography (younger than fourteen years) and the involvement in deviant sexual behaviour... particularly rape.

• Sex Addiction: Experts reveal that males who are exposed to a great deal of sexually explicit material before the age of 14 are more sexually active and engage in more illicit sexual behaviours when they become adults, than those who are not so exposed. In a supporting study, in which 932 sex addicts were surveyed, 90 percent of the men and 77 percent of the women reported that pornography was significant to their addiction. (Patrick Carnes, Don’t Call it Love: Recovery from Sexual Addictions).

• Sexually Transmitted Disease: Pornography encourages sexual expression without responsibility. Consequently, children engage in early sexual encounters, which increase their risk of contracting STDs such as HIV/AIDS.

• Teenaged Pregnancy: As a result of early sexual activity, which follows the exposure to pornography, teenage girls become more susceptible to unwanted pregnancies. This, in turn, affects their prospect for future success.

• Attitudes and Values: Most parents would expect their children to adopt the same type of values — ethical and moral code — as they do. Part of that value system would relate to love, relationships, marriage, intimacy and sex. However, exposure to pornography can erode the established value-based tenets. Actions and behaviours such as rape, which would have otherwise been viewed as dehumanising, are trivialised and decriminalised on hardcore sites. Continuous scenes of aggressive and violent sexual content can transform a tender hearted loving child into a Ted Bundy.

• Formative Years: The formative period of a child’s life is essential to the development of personality and identity. This stage is the rudder that sets the rest of life on its course. Programming for sexual orientation commences during this time. Consequently, exposure to pornography during these early ages may result in sexual deviance becoming a permanent part of one’s sexual orientation. One’s sexual identity develops gradually throughout childhood and adolescence.

In most families, information about sex comes in digestible bits that are age-appropriate. The onslaught of pornography however, causes the normal process of development to be distorted. The child receives errant information about sex and introduces premature sexual sensations with which he is developmentally unprepared to contend. It’s absolutely imperative that every decent human being declares all-out war on this evil.