A growing chorus of voices is calling attention to the strong link between pornography and sexual exploitation, and those voices are now\u00a0seeing\u00a0some significant progress.![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/842\/2018\/03\/ph-billboard1-300x138.png\")
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Just last week the House passed historic legislation\u00a0against online sex trafficking.\u00a0 The\u00a0package to fight online sex trafficking\u00a0passed by a\u00a0vote of 388 to 25.\u00a0 If\u00a0this legislation passes the Senate, it will allow\u00a0victims of sex trafficking to go after their online perpetrators, and empower states Attorneys General to prosecute sex traffickers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
As\u00a0the law currently\u00a0stands, victims have been barred access to the civil courts, while certain Internet companies have been granted what amounts to a right to engage in criminal conduct.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIn a tragic series of court cases favoring Backpage, a classified advertising website that facilitates sex trafficking, the courts have interpreted the Communication Decency Act (CDA) to give websites posting third-party content immunity for criminal activity facilitated via their sites and denied victims of sex trafficking the right to sue the companies that facilitated and profited from their exploitation. In other words, there is now a special, elite class of sex traffickers\u2014those who provide the organizational superstructure on which most of modern sex trafficking occurs\u2014who can operate with impunity<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cMany of the legal arguments in favor of Backpage have framed the issue as a matter of free speech. Ironically, it\u2019s not the rich and powerful individuals behind these websites who are suffering from a lack of free speech, but the victims of sex trafficking whose voices have been barred from civil courts. The issue here isn\u2019t about restricting free speech, but increasing it<\/em>,\u201d said\u00a0said Lisa L. Thompson, Vice President of Research and Education for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCoSE)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This important\u00a0legislation included\u00a0H.R. 1865 the\u00a0Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act\u00a0(FOSTA), sponsored by Rep. Ann Wagner, and an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mimi Walters which incorporated the vital reforms contained in S. 1693 the\u00a0Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act\u00a0(SESTA), sponsored by Senators Portman, Blumenthal, and McCaskill.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cPeople\u00a0are not objects\u00a0to be sold online<\/em>,\u201d\u00a0said Thompson.\u00a0 This \u201chistoric vote puts us on the cusp of restoring rights to victims of sex trafficking and empowering state Attorneys General to prosecute the kingpins of sex trafficking.\u00a0\u00a0The Nional Center on Sexual Exploitation calls on the U.S. Senate to join with the U.S. House of Representatives, survivors, Attorneys General from 48 States, a state legislature, celebrities, and advocacy groups from across the country in standing with victims of sex trafficking. We hope they live up to their duty to protect the vulnerabl<\/em>e.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n States Recognize Public Health Consequences of Pornography<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Another positive\u00a0trend\u00a0is the\u00a0growing number of states recognizing the public health effects of pornography.\u00a0 \u00a0Last week Florida joined\u00a0Utah, South Dakota, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Kansas in citing the destructive, addictive nature of pornography that is resulting in ruined\u00a0lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe harms associated with pornography use are wide-ranging.\u00a0Two recent meta-analyses (a process of a systematic review of several studies which yields greater statistical power) show a link between aggression and pornography use.\u00a0Similarly, more than 50 studies (several longitudinal) on men have linked pornography use to lower sexual and relationship satisfaction.. There are also dozens of studies linking pornography use to\u00a0emotional and cognitive difficulties.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThese disturbing findings are also consistent with neuroscience-based studies. It wasn\u2019t long ago that the American public considered smoking innocuous\u2014some doctors even touted faulty research claiming smoking was beneficial. But, today, much as X-ray photos of smoke-damaged lungs convinced skeptics of the harm caused by smoking, neuroimaging is revealing disquieting alterations to the brains of pornography users<\/em>,\u201d\u00a0Thompson stated.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThere are\u00a038 neurological studies\u00a0that suggest Internet pornography can cause addiction-related brain changes. Among them is\u00a0 study published this month\u00a0which reported significant reductions in grey matter, as well as decreased resting-state functional activity between certain brain centers among individuals with problematic hypersexual behavior (PHB) compared to a control group. Notably, those with PHB used pornography more frequently. The regions of the brain affected play a pivotal role in attention shifting and sustained attention, as well as reward-based behavioral learning.\u00a0\u00a0These findings are particularly alarming when considered in light of the number of young people exposed to pornography today.\u00a0A\u00a0 2017 study\u00a0reported pornography exposure during adolescence is as high as 87%, with the median age for first viewing being 13 for boys and 16 for girls.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cToday, young people with smartphones carry access to the world of XXX with them wherever they go. The potential harmful impact of pornography on their developing brains, relationships, and sexual templates is apparent to\u00a0educators, therapists, parents,\u00a0and young people themselves. As one\u00a014 year old boy\u00a0put it, \u2018I want help. I want it to end . . . I want to be able to go to school and not have pornography on my mind<\/em>.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Prosecuting Revenge Porn<\/strong><\/p>\n In Ohio,\u00a0a proposed state law\u00a0would\u00a0criminalize the nonconsensual publishing of sexual videos or photos, commonly known as \u201crevenge porn.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Monsignor John Zuraw, chancellor of the Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio, told CNA that he believes the legislation would help protect the dignity of Ohio\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhen we look at that idea of what porn is all about, porn promotes harmful and destructive views of the human person<\/em>,\u201d said Monsignor Ziraw. \u201cRevenge porn laws protect the dignity of the human perso<\/em>n.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Revenge porn is when an ex-romantic partner \u2013 or a hacker \u2013 posts sexual videos or photos of a person without their consent.\u00a0\u00a0More than 30 states currently have laws against revenge porn, but Ohio only prosecutes the posting of pornography featuring underage children, or pornography used as blackmail. The state currently does not penalize a person for simply distributing non-consensual pornography.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The bill would provide \u201ccompensatory and punitive damages for harm resulting from the violation<\/em>\u201d and a \u201ctemporary restraining order prohibiting further dissemination of the image<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to Record-Courier, Detective Kalk, who is also an attorney, helped craft the bill after Aurora authorities struggled to find a charge for alleged offenders of revenge porn.\u00a0\u00a0He said the bill would help clarify which jurisdiction should investigate or prosecute a specific crime, which can be unclear if a perpetrator is in a different city from where the victim lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Monsignor Zuraw\u00a0points out that all pornography \u201cdebases the human person<\/em>,\u201d but said that revenge porn adds an additional dimension of harm.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cWhen we move into\u2026revenge porn, there are two aspects there: it is the pornography that promotes harmful and destructive views of the human person, but then that whole aspect of revenge that I\u2019m getting back at you because you didn\u2019t do what you should be doing for me<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Monsignor Zuraw emphasized that human sexuality is an extension of God\u2019s goodness, but must be seen in the context of God\u2019s creation.\u00a0\u201cWhen God created each every one of us, he created our sexuality as an aspect of what is good. We should never lose sight of what God has created and ultimately what is good is to benefit us in ways that are not selfish<\/em>.\u201d![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/842\/2018\/03\/GailDinesQuote_Boy_RaisedonPorn-1-300x300.jpeg\")
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