Porn linked to child abuse

Originally published in Times Live

Porn addicts are at high risk of sexually abusing children, including their own.

This is according to research by Dr Antoinette Basson, of Unisa’s youth research unit, who interviewed convicted child-sex offenders in prisons in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape.

The study, which focused on child-sex offenders who used porn, found that the offenders had in common:

• Exposed to pornography while young by peers or family members;
• Preoccupied with pornography; and
• Had low self-esteem and came from dysfunctional family environments characterised by violence, unstable relationships and abuse.

The early exposure to porn prompted offenders to use it for grooming victims, the research stated.

Said Basson: “Based on the results it is reasonable to conclude that porn has an influence on human behaviour in relation to the sexual exploitation of children.”

Dr Shaheda Omar, a representative of the Teddy Bear Clinic for abused children, claimed that exposure to pornography while young creates a “vicious cycle”.

Said Omar: “It is a huge factor that leads to perpetuating this behaviour, when these kids feel excited or stimulated they do not have anyone to speak to,” she said.

While the law prohibits pornography from being displayed in the presence of a child, Omar said it is difficult to police private homes.

She called for “stringent measures”, such as punishing parents who leave porn lying around for their children to find.

The SA Law Reform Commission is investigating the pornography laws.

Child rights activist Joan van Niekerk said the commission will begin consultations with others when it has completed its report.

Pornography was legalised in 1994. The change in the law and the growth of the internet caused the porn market to flourish.

Basson said her study sought to examine the link between porn addiction and the exploitation of children . The men and women interviewed for the study were aged between 20 and their late 50s, and came from different backgrounds and occupations.

Many were serving life sentences in maximum-security prisons.

Basson said: “These offenders were very intelligent — engineers, teachers, social workers — very professional people. They develop a total preoccupation with porn; they watch it at work without even thinking about work.”

Many of the subjects reported early exposure to pornography.

“My father had a lot of porn tapes and magazines,” said one offender.

Another offender said he first watched porn after he found his mother’s porn lying around the house.

One father interviewed said that he would expose his two daughters to porn while his wife was at work before sexually abusing them.