Pornography & Sex Trafficking

America has an addiction to pornography.  If you ask the average person if they've every viewed pornography at any point in their lifetime, the vast majority would say yes.  People who view it deceive themselves into believing that it's harmless.  That the people who are engaging in the act are willing participants, and there's no harm in just viewing it since you're not actually engaging in the action, but is this really the case?  Is there really no harm in watching?  Are all the individuals in the porn industry in fact "willing participants?"  The tragic reality is that is that many of those engaged in pornography are not doing this willingly, but have been coerced into it, and that by watching, we are in truth providing a market for the tragic "sex slave" epidemic that plagues our nation.  

Some critics have stated that pornography is in truth nothing but legalized prostitution, and in truth, these critics are right.  Though the individuals viewing the images and videos may not be actively engaging in the activity, they're still taking part by viewing a paid sexual act.  The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) defines sex trafficking as "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtain of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act."  It also includes "inducing commercial sex acts by force, fraud, or coercion."   It is, by every definition, prostitution.  The tragic truth is that many of the people in the pornographic image and video are not there willingly.  A large percentage of these participants have been conned, pressured, or coerced into partaking in sexual acts that they in truth do not want to partake in.  Pornography is, by every definition, prostitution. 

Sex Traffickers use the pornography industry in many ways.  They make their victims watch many of these videos to desensitize them into believing that it's simply physical interaction, and nothing more.  A 2007 study revealed that 854 men and women interviewed in nine nations found that traffickers took pornographic photos of ½ of them while they were in prostitution."  Many of the people who you see in the pornographic videos were in truth conned into the sex trade when they were still minors and are now being sold online for money.  Other victims include individual women who were conned by traffickers into believing that they'd be working in modeling or acting businesses but were instead over time deceived into taking part in the pornography industry.  These particular predators act nice and friendly at first, but over time, they con their victims to take part in nude photographs and videos to "build their portfolio," then gradually urge them to partake in sexual acts in order to "attract notice from Hollywood."  

Before they know it, these victims are then told that they're in debt to their "agency" and the only way out is to do more pornography, partake "private shows," and perform numerous other sexual acts.  They're now brainwashed, trapped, and may never find their way out.  

Now one may argue that not all those involved in the pornography have been conned, coerced, or pressured into this in any way.  While this is true, the truth is you don't know who is a willing participant, and who is a groomed sex slave.  Would you willingly buy products from a company that you know for a fact has some, but not all of their products manufactured by child slaves?  Those who watch porn are unknowingly contributing the sex trafficking epidemic in our nation.  They deceive themselves into believing that it's a consensual, it's by choice, and it's not harmful.  Unfortunately, it's very harmful to the viewer as they're becoming "clients" of the sex trade without realizing it.  More importantly, viewing pornography on a regular basis desensitizes their minds to the tragic and brutal reality of the "sex trafficking epidemic" here in America.  Some who watch this become so desensitized, that over time they begin to see no difference in viewing sexual videos online to actually engaging in paid sexual relationships.  Many men who ultimately became physical clients of the "sex trade" later testified that it was pornography that served as their "gateway drug" to becoming active clients of this despicable business.  

Pornography is a cultural propaganda that drives home the notion that women are prostitutes and has served to greatly increase the demand in the sex trade.  This has to be revealed.  People must learn the truth of the true horrors and danger that pornography poses to our society.  According to journalist John-Henry Westen, “As long as America’s men are being trained to think that violent, disturbing pornography is sexually acceptable, an enormous clientele for sex traffickers is being created every day in homes, college dorms, and apartments across the nation.”  The best way to stop the trafficking is to take away the demand for it.  

If there is no demand for this product, the traffickers will not engage in the trade as there will be no money in it for them.  Children and adults alike must be educated by their schools, communities, and religious institutions about the true destructive nature of pornography.  They must learn that it's not OK to watch it, and that it is in truth contributing to the modern day sex trade.  It is time for us to become educated, rise up as one, and say "NO" to pornography!

Sources:

Belles, Nita.  In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and what We can do to Stop It.  Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2015.

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