The term pornography covers a broad spectrum. In essence it is designed to sexually arouse the reader or viewer. Sexually explicit material is an alternative term.

It occurs in most forms of media including books, magazines, videos, cinema films, TV, computer games and advertisements.

The Internet has now become an easy source of explicit, depraved SEM.

Is PORN harmful:
Child Rape
The SA Police Officer co-ordinating the Gauteng Family Violence, Child Protection & Sexual Offences Units has said that in 98% of cases where the home of a suspected rapist/child abuser has been searched, evidence of the regular use of pornography has been found. (2004)

Child Sexual Abuse
" 90% of young sexual offenders (7 to 14 years) have been exposed to pornography. This is a huge factor as the offenders act out what they have seen" - Luke Lambrecht, Manager, Teddy Bear Clinic, Gauteng (2004)

Rape
The trivialisation of rape is the hallmark of porn. It has perpetuated the rape myth that when a woman says "no", she actually means "yes".

Gender Inequality
In pornography the male is virtually always dominant and women are depicted as enjoying sex even when subjected to extreme violence. She is portrayed merely as a sex-object.

Divorce
Addiction to pornography featuring unrealistically glamorous, youthful models in explicit poses, group sex and swapping of partners all contribute to marital dissatisfaction and infidelity. Even violent sex becomes acceptable.

Family Breakdown
Women are often portrayed as objects to be humiliated, ridiculed and abused. Respect for the mother figure thus evaporates. The breadwinner is prone to squander his income on pornographic material.

Pornography Addiction
There are four stages:
Firstly - repeated return to the material; secondly -escalation i.e. a need for progressively more shocking material; thirdly - desensitisation i.e. what was initially grossly deviant becomes acceptable; and fourthly - copying i.e. sexual activities seen in the porn material are increasingly put into action. (There is a significant correlation here with sexual crime.)

Social Effects
The majority of young people are already desensitised to the extent that promiscuity has become acceptable - even fashionable! Here TV is a powerful and insidious influence, regularly displaying loveless and deviant sex in contrast to meaningful relationships. Pornographic films on late night channels are becoming increasingly acceptable.

AIDS
AIDS is well on the way to destroying our nation. Pornography has promoted a culture of casual sex through to promiscuity - the root cause of AIDS. "HIV incidence is highest in the 15 to 19 age group at 65.4%" - Carol Bower, Executive Director, RAPCAN. (2000)

Sex – tourism
South Africa is marketed overseas as one of the world's premier sex-tourism destinations. Pornographic material is freely available as are child prostitutes who have been "indoctrinated" with porn videos and magazines.

Trafficking of Drugs, Women & Children
The sex industry, which includes the trafficking of young women and children and the making and marketing of pornography, is also closely linked into the network dealing in drugs.

The Link with Crime
Two grand juries (USA) determined that organised crime controls a full 90% of the hard-core porn traffic in the US - Dr A. Grazioli (1995)