Rape and Pornography
There is no uniform description of pornography as the ones available are not consistent and are subject to change. Nonetheless, a wide pool of research commonly concludes that the description ought to encompass the form of, and enticement to, pornography. Therefore, it is largely defined to comprise all types of material that seek to generate, provoke, or facilitate sexual thoughts and sentiments and which contain open exposure or depiction of genitals, as well as apparently expressed sexual acts. In the recent past, the consumption and creation of pornography have been found to have skyrocketed. Nevertheless, in the course of the same period, rape and other forms of sexual violence have significantly decreased (Harkness, Mullan, & Blaszczynski, 2015). The decrease in cases of rape at a time when pornography is on the rise signifies that pornography does not lead to sexual violence.
The connection between pornography and sexual violence has had insufficient attention regardless of its significance as a major sexual health concern. It has been found that grownups are less vulnerable to any negative effect of pornography attributable to their critical thinking proficiencies and excellently founded sexual intellections. Research comparing the people found guilty of sex-related crimes (such as rape and sexual molestation), and pornography consumption has established no relationship between the two (Math et al., 2014). Most of the research has affirmed that pornography consumers pose minimal risk to the society and have a low incidence of anti-social behaviors such as sexual violence. In terms of the negative influence of pornography, there exist contradictory results from its having an insignificant role to the instances of child victims’ involvement. On this note, studies have established that pornography does not result in the occurrence of rape and other criminal activities against women.
Factors That Result in Sexual Violence
Peer pressure acts as a considerable aspect in the rise of sexual violence across the globe. Even if an individual is innocent, having a close friendship with a rapist might gradually influence him to engage in such acts irrespective of efforts to avoid it (Achunike & Kitause, 2014). Adolescents are mainly swayed into sexual violence by their peers easily. Attributable to the fact that they have little or no experience when it comes to sexual actions, they are easily persuaded to take part in rape as a means of gaining approval from their allies and maintaining relevance in the gang or peer group.
Being exposed to modernity and indecent dressing is a factor that perpetuates sexual violence. Adolescents are increasingly getting access to sexually explicit material from magazines, novels, and television programs. Furthermore, some of the modern films and video music are deliberately created to elicit sexual feelings, which could prompt their consumers into raping to quench their strong urge (Achunike & Kitause, 2014). On the same note, indecent dressing by girls and women, where their body parts such as breasts remain uncovered, has a similar impact. It elicits sexual desires that at times results to rape when the offender’s pleas for sexual favors from a girl or woman are rejected or when they are not prepared to negotiate.
Stigmatization causes a rise in cases of sexual violence. In some societies, instances of rape are hardly discussed, and victims get stigmatized due to the disgrace that is linked to the act. In this regard, most of the people who get raped choose to remain silent to prevent embarrassment, shame, and ridicule. Even the family members of the victims of sexual violence opt not to let the public know about it for fear of segregation, which makes most of the cases go unreported. This means that most of the culprits are not reprimanded for such crime (Achunike & Kitause, 2014). Attributable to the lack of punishment and failure to report such occurrences, individuals with the intention of committing sexual violence gain courage to undertake it because they are convinced that they will not be reported or punished.
Some of the myths about sex act as powerful forces that result in the rising cases of rape. For example, some societies are made to believe that males get pimples, undersized testicles, and erection problems for not engaging in sexual actions regularly (Achunike & Kitause, 2014). Moreover, other people may believe the myths that painful nipples and menses, in addition to early menopause and small bosoms, are found on females who do not engage in sex in the course of their adolescence. Young people brought up in the societies that hold such myths as true may be compelled to take part in sexual violence in a bid to prevent the negative consequences.
Should Pornography be regulated?
It has widely been established that pornography does not lead to sexual violence among adults. However, pornography should be understood as prostitution, and the performers made aware that it is potentially harmful to them (Tyler, 2015). Additionally, when such materials are exposed to children and adolescents, they could make them engage in sexual violence. Moreover, the use of children in the creation of pornography amounts to child abuse. The absence of regulations that govern the production, selling, distribution, and possession of pornographic materials signifies that even if the producers are legally creating them, the people receiving them might not be lawfully doing so, minors. On this note, there is a need for the regulation of pornography to ensure that the producers have records indicating that every performer was an adult and legally doing so (Samenow, 2012). Children and adolescents should be educated on the harmful effects of pornography and supervised while using the internet. Furthermore, the government should set strict laws that prevent sexual exploitation of minors.
References
Achunike, H. C., & Kitause, R. H. (2014). Rape epidemic in Nigeria: Cases, causes, consequences and responses to the pandemic. IMPACT Int J Res Appl Natl Soc Sci, 2, 31-44.
Harkness, E. L., Mullan, B., & Blaszczynski, A. (2015). Association between pornography use and sexual risk behaviors in adult consumers: A systematic review. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(2), 59-71.
Math, S. B., Viswanath, B., Maroky, A. S., Kumar, N. C., Cherian, A. V., & Nirmala, M. C. (2014). Sexual crime in India: Is it influenced by pornography? Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 36(2), 147.
Samenow, C. P. (2012). Child pornography and the law: A clinician’s guide. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 19(1-2), 16-29.
Tyler, M. (2015). Harms of production: Theorising pornography as a form of prostitution. Women’s Studies International Forum, 48, 114-123.