Does pornography cause harm? Is it connected in any way to sexual abuse?

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A new report claims that the consumption of pornography may actually reduce the desire to rape by offering a safe, private outlet for deviant sexual desires.”  Citing several experts, Melinda Wenner Moyer explains in Scientific American that “exposure to pornography might make some people less likely to commit sexual crimes.”

Christopher J. Ferguson, a professor at Texas A&M, explains that although pornography is easier to access than ever before, the rates of rape and sexual assault are at their lowest levels since the 1960s.  The same, he says, goes for other countries like Japan, China, and Denmark.  And although these are just associations, and causality would be almost impossible to prove, Ferguson says the evidence is enough to disprove “the theory that rape and sexual assault are in part influenced by pornography.” source

Does pornography and sexual violence have any connection? Pornography to me clearly makes women an object of a sexual nature, gives a sexist , unrealistic idea of what women are, but do I see a connection of pornography and rape?

These men lets say who do not have a partner, get turned on by pornography and then what? Desperate for that quick fix they go looking for a women, any women, if that women rejects them, do they force the women to partake in a sexual encounter?

Not all men who watch pornography go onto commit sexual violence, many men and women watch pornography related material. Many men in happy, stable relationships watch porn, usually in secret,  from fear of upsetting their partner. Are there any facts to say that pornography and sexual violence are conncted? No, so how can it be proved pornography does not cause sexual violence?

In a study of female partners of heavy porn users, “42 percent said it made them feel insecure; 39 percent said it had a negative impact on their relationship and 32 percent said it negatively affected their lovemaking.”

 There’s the recent study which revealed that men who pay for sex are more likely to commit violent crimes.

Does pornography cause harm? Is it connected in any way to sexual abuse? What are your own views on pornography?

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