The study, undertaken after a Canberaa, Australia-based hospital reported that cases of “sexually abusive behavior” in children had tripled within the last three years, said that a survey of research found no causal effects between the adult entertainment business and “sexually deviant behavior.” Researchers, however, did say that they found strange correlations between the two and recommended government actions to fix the problem.
Though Joan Irvine, executive director of Adult Sites Against Child Pornography, agrees that adult entertainment is not meant to be viewed by children, she said she disagrees with the assumption that the adult industry should be blamed.
“Adult entertainment is by and for adults,” Irvine told XBiz. “It is not intended to be viewed by children. If children are viewing it, it is the fault of the parents who should be monitoring their children’s Internet activities, just as they should do with their television viewing.”
Irvine also takes issue with the study’s position on pornography and its use as both a tool of arousal by pedophiles and in inducing pedophilic behavior.
“It’s interesting to note that, contrary to common assumption, at a meeting with law enforcement, an agent stated that they very rarely find adult entertainment images on the computer or in the home of someone arrested for child pornography,” said Irvine. “They only find pictures of children.”
“Pedophiles are very sick individuals who will use any method to sexually abuse children,” Irvine said. “The idea that pedophiles use adult entertainment for arousal prior to abusing children is incorrect.”
Among the research referenced by the study is a 1987 report that found battered women tended to have partners that had significantly more pornography than individuals drawn from a male control group.
Also referenced in the study was a series of research conducted in 1993 that suggests children already predisposed to aggression may have a higher risk of engaging in aggressive behavior after being exposed to adult material.
The tone of the study is consistent with what adult entertainment attorney Greg Piccionelli suggested during the legal seminar at last weekend’s Webmaster Access convention in Santa Monica.
“The adult industry is going to be increasingly attacked as physically and psychologically harmful,” said Piccionelli during the seminar.
The Canadian study comes less than a week after Congress heard testimony that compared adult content with heroin.
Sen. Sam Brownback, chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on science, said he even has middle-aged male friends that limit their time in hotel rooms in order to avoid the temptation of adult pay-per-view movies.
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