Hot off the press from Current Addiction Reports! Important new paper by The Reward Foundation called “Problematic Pornography Use: Legal and Health Policy Considerations.” Please read and share with this link: https://rdcu.be/cxquO. This paper suggests what governments around the world need to be aware of to help deal with the increasing health problems, sexual violence and legal costs related to problematic pornography use. There are solutions available.

Abstract

Purpose of Review Reports of sexual violence, especially towards women and children, are rapidly increasing. At the same time, rates of problematic pornography use (PPU) are accelerating across the world too. The purpose of this review is to consider the recent research on PPU and its contribution to sexual violence. The article offers guidance to governments on possible health policy interventions and legal actions to prevent the development of PPU and to reduce the incidence of sexual violence in society.

Recent Findings Working from the consumer’s point of view, we identify PPU and ask how much pornography is needed to cause PPU. We examine how PPU drives sexual offending in children, adolescents and adults. The impact of PPU on some consumers’ behaviour suggests significant links to domestic violence. Sexual strangulation is highlighted as an example. Artificial intelligence algorithms play a key role in the pornography industry and appear to be driving escalation to more violent material, inducing high levels of sexual dysfunction in consumers and creating appetites for viewing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Summary Easy access to internet pornography has led to an increase in PPU and sexual violence. Diagnoses and treatments for PPU are examined, as are legal transgressions of a civil and criminal nature arising from PPU. Legal remedies and government policy implications are discussed from the point of view of the precautionary principle. Strategies covered include age verification for pornography, public health campaigns and embedded health and legal warnings for users at the start of pornography sessions along with lessons for pupils about pornography’s impact on the brain.

See the full paper at Current Addiction Reports https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-021-00390-8.

If you would like to hear Mary Sharpe speaking about the paper and putting it into a wider context, her talk is now available on YouTube..

https://youtu.be/cr2NTEg1xw4

You can learn more about our original Research by TRF here.