Understanding Risks of Exposure to Pornography by Dr
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THE CLEAR, THE NOT SO CLEAR AND THE DOWNRIGHT CONFUSING: GAINING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE RISKS POSED TO YOUTH WHO ARE EXPOSED TO PORNOGRAPHY, SEXUAL EXPLOITATION & SEXUALLY ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR Dr. Russell Pratt, Statewide Principal Practitioner, Office of Professional Practice, DHHS NSW Legal Aid Conference August 7, 2015 AIMS OF THE PRESENTATION Look at: Pornography’s impact on youth, and how to make sense of this, Youth with sexually abusive behaviours (some of them are in our system due to porn exposure), System responses. DEFINING PORNOGRAPHY Printed or visual material containing the explicit description or display of sexual organs or activity, intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings. Media or photographs showing erotic or sexual behaviour in a way designed to cause sexual arousal. Pornography is protected by the free speech provision of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, unless it is found to be obscene. See also obscenity. (Websters Law Dictionary), “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description ["hard-core pornography"], and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it” Justice Potter Stewart 1964. PORN IS EVERYWHERE… AND JUST WHAT IS PORN ANYWAY – CAN WE DEFINE IT? IT’S NOT ACTUALLY WHAT WE THINK OF AS PORN… http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/8494960/kids- rap --video inappropriate-- for children AND WHAT MESSAGE DOES THIS IMAGE SEND? http://newsone.com/2024243/booty-pop-youtube-albert-roundtree-jr/ PATTERNS OF NORMATIVE SEXUAL PRACTICE HAVE CHANGED – THANKS TO PORN. The impact of technology on pornography Easier, faster, higher quality (better) access to pornography Pornography itself has changed Shaped attitudes, beliefs and knowledge about sex A ‘set’ script The script is distasteful (? – debatable) PATTERNS OF ADOLESCENT SEXUAL PRACTICE HAVE CHANGED, 5th National Survey of Australian Secondary Students and Sexual Health (2013-14) Latrobe University (Mitchell et. Al., 2014) 2136 students 39% male, 61% female Year 10 – year 12 Completed every five years FINDINGS – ‘REAL SEX’ 2008 2013 Intercourse: year 10 27% 23% year 12 56% 50% Deep kissing (all) 79% 68% Touching genitals (all) 65% 52% Oral sex (all) 44% 39% Anal sex (all) n/r 9% FINDINGS – ‘REMOTE SEX’ 43% of students had sent a sexually explicit text 54% had received a sexually explicit text 26% had sent an explicit or nude photo/video of self 9% had sent one of someone else 42% had received an explicit or nude photo/video of someone else 22% had used a social media site for sex reasons HISTORY: THE POST-1970 EVOLUTION OF ‘NON-PORN’ PORN REMEMBER – PORN HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME. THE EVOLUTION OF ‘ACTUAL PORN: POST-1970 1970’s hard-core sex with a story THE EVOLUTION OF ‘ACTUAL PORN’:POST-1970 1980’s – 1990’s Look at my new video camera! The home made revolution THE EVOLUTION OF ‘ACTUAL PORN’ POST-1970 – 2000 AND BEYOND –SHOCK GONZO PORN THE EVOLUTION OF ‘ACTUAL PORN’: POST-1970 Now: Gonzo and shock porn “Reading…an investigation into the gonzo pornography world…one of the most disturbing pieces of journalism I’ve ever read. Gang bangs, torture, debasement of the most sickening kind. But hey, it’s just business. The Taliban stone women, we act outraged, spend billions trying to destroy them. And here in the land of the free? We dress girls up, shove sh*t in their mouths, make them plead for more, smile while they’re being tortured, gang bang them with multiple partners in multiple entry points. Annual US sales, $10 billion. Worldwide porn industry sales are more than Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft combined.” Gonzo Barbie – Empire of Illusion. Source: https://ninaberman.wordpress.com/page/11/ PORNOGRAPHY- GENDER ISSUES . Majority of research indicates that significantly more boys and young men access pornography than girls and young women) . Boys and young men are also likely to access pornography more frequently, view it more positively and consider its usage a valuable source of information on sex education (Hovarth et al, 2013; Skau, 2011) PORNOGRAPHY IS PROBLEMATIC – FOR SOME KIDS: SIGNS OF PROBLEMATIC EXPOSURE TO PORNOGRAPHY COULD INCLUDE: Indications that pornography is interfering with day-to-day activities Less interest in human face-to-face interaction and more time spent at the computer A tendency to utilise the internet in private and to block or hide content from others when they engage with the young person at or near the computer Obsessive deletion of the browsing history Suggestions or comments that are indicative of a knowledge of sexual content above age-appropriate levels Obsessive or harmful (injurious) sexual activity (including obsessive masturbation) Fetish-like interests of a sexual nature An obsessive or high degree of anxiety, frustration or anger when denied access to pornographic websites. PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR . Access and exposure to pornography can contribute to engagement in risky sexual behaviour (Horvarth et al 2013) . Viewing pornography does not lead to engaging in sexually harmful behaviours, but adolescents who sexually abused reported more exposure to porn than those who engaged in non sexual crimes (Burton et al 2010) PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR . Research has shown that repeated exposure to pornography can lead to desensitisation about the material and contribute to the distorted views of what is considered acceptable in relationships (Shuler and Prescott), . For young people at risk, viewing of pornography had increased the likelihood of engaging in coercive sexual behaviour, sexually aggressive language and sex with animals (Owens et. al.: 2012). PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR: SKAU & BARBOUR 2011 470 Adolescents (average age 19), Initial exposure to pornographic material prior to age 10 compared to age 10 or older; . Engaged in more sexually questionable acts, . Reported a desire to engage in more varied sexual behaviours, . More sexually aroused by violence, . Consume more pornography late in life, . Spend more time per week looking at pornography. (Skau and Barbour 2011 presentation at ATSA) SKAU & BARBOUR (CONT.) Skau & Barbour also highlighted the difficulties of attributing problematic behaviour to pornography, quoting Slade (2001) on the “truth” about pornography: “Some pornography under some circumstances may affect some people in some ways some of the time”. PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR Children lack the context for understanding explicit sex and may experience feelings of confusion, embarrassment and fear, Reluctance in seeking adult support to make sense of this, coupled with the child’s emotional response may lead to pornography having a disproportionate influence in a child life, A lack of alternative pictorial representations of sex and life experiences further reinforces these images. (Skau & Barbour, 2011) PORNOGRAPHY: AN INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL? Cited studies suggest that earlier access to pornography may either contribute to or impact upon sexual development, through earlier onset sexual activity, May also impact sexually abusive behaviours, impacting upon both a young person’s interest in engaging in sexual activity and also their ability to engage successfully in sexual acts, Furthermore, desensitisation may be an issue where large quantities of hard core porn have been viewed, although again, this is only one risk factor amongst the many known, One thing seems clear: pornography provides a “how to” manual, showing every possible angle of what goes where and who can do what to whom, as well as providing sexual stimulation and shaping patterns of sexual arousal, When coupled with other risk factors present in the young person’s life, pairing the ”how to” with the sexual stimulation provided by pornography may both equip and prime youth to undertake more advanced sexual practices earlier than they otherwise might or earlier than those who have not accessed pornography, simply because they have just that - a template for what to do, based on the graphic nature of pornography. YOUTH EXHIBITING SEXUALLY ABUSIVE BEHAVIOURS The relationship between pornography exposure and engagement in sexually abusive behaviours is neither well researched nor understood, Horvarth and colleagues (2013) suggest that access and exposure to pornography may contribute to engagement in risky sexual behaviour, Burton et al. (2010) found that viewing pornography did not lead to engagement in sexually harmful behaviours; however, adolescents who sexually abused reported more exposure to porn than those who engaged in non-sexual crimes (Burton et. al., 2010), In line with these findings, for youth who were deemed “at-risk,” the viewing of pornography increased the likelihood of engaging in coercive sexual behaviour, sexually aggressive language, and sex with animals (Owens et. al., 2012), Moreover, repeated exposure to pornography was found to desensitise youth to the material viewed and to lead to distorted views of what are ”acceptable” behaviours in relationships (Prescott & Shuler, 2011). YOUTH EXHIBITING SEXUALLY ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR This, however, does not logically lead to a firm conclusion that pornography use in particular lays a path to sexually abusive behaviour. However, it does seem to make logical sense that pornography consumption will likely impact upon and influence the development of sexual scripts, sexual behaviours, sexual interests, and sexual beliefs of young people, Given