“Porn Harms” Campaign Uses Online Conventions, Real-Time Dialogue to Educate Public
In August, direct, targeted messages about the ways pornography destroys lives will be sent out by more than 110 organizations as part of the national "Porn Harms" campaign. The August message, part of a four-week campaign, will focus on how pornography is linked to increasing violence toward women.
Throughout the month-long Porn Harms campaign, each member of the 110 organizations involved in the War on Illegal Pornography Coalition has been working to send research out about the dangers of porn, hosting online conferences, and offering subscriptions to porn addiction recovery resources and websites at no charge.
Members of the War on Illegal Pornography Coalition say pornography facilitates lifelong sexual abuse of women, destroys families and can contribute to incidences of rape. Morality in Media president Patrick Trueman, a member organization of the coalition, says pornography disintegrates the viewer’s thoughts and perspectives toward others, while also urging men to perform the things they view from pornographic material. The result can be crimes against children and women and an increase in sexual trafficking.
Correlations between pornography usage and violence toward women continue to be the focus of numerous research studies. Many experts believe males who already have tendencies toward violence may have a higher chance of participating in sexual violence toward women as a result of viewing aggressive sexual images found in pornography. Other studies are examining the pornography usage behaviors of people who have been convicted of rape or child molestation.
Additional "Porn Harms" campaign themes include the addictive nature of porn, how it harms children and how the material is linked to the sex trafficking industry. Organizers say they’ll use tools like the Internet and social media to help people understand the consequences of porn, utilizing the same Internet-based tools that have allowed the porn industry to see multi-billion dollar growth in the past decade.
A series of Porn Harms billboards, online posters and signs have also been offered to groups free of charge. The War on Illegal Pornography Coalition is also working to grow a Facebook following as part of the campaign. Participants in Porn Harms online conferences and Facebook discussions are asking questions and getting answers in the moment, another education and outreach tool by campaign organizers.
