How pornography harms women and girls - Womens Aid report

[HerGorgeousMajestyArabellaScott]

https://www.womensaid.ie/get-informed/news-events/media-releases/facing-reality-failure-to-tackle-the-harms-of-pornography-is-undermining-equality-and-putting-new-generations-of-young-people-at-risk/

Research from Women's Aid Ireland out yesterday on the harms of porn.

'Stark new Irish research finds that the consumption of mainstream pornography is fuelling high levels of violence against and degradation of women and girls.
Report finds that pornography that features the strangling of women during sex, verbally degrading them and spitting in their faces, among countless other acts of callousness and cruelty is now mainstream and freely available to everyone, including children, with a few clicks online.
Researchers have found that much mainstream pornography depicts high levels of sexual and physical aggression against women which actively distorts and breaks the boundary between ‘sex’ and ‘sexual violence’.
The report also finds that the consumption of sexually violent content impacts negatively on the healthy sexual development and behaviour of adults and young people leading to sexual violence, unhealthy relationships, hostile misogyny, and compounds gender inequality.
Women’s Aid calls for urgent actions to counter the multiple harms created and caused by pornography through frank public discussion, education, child protection measures and targeting the business model of the multi-billion-euro porn industry.'

'This study starkly reveals that much of what features in mainstream pornography in fact constitutes sexual violence. Pornography that features the strangling of women during sex, verbally degrading them and spitting in their faces, among countless other acts of callousness and cruelty is now mainstream'

...
'The report includes a detailed review of studies on men’s attitudes and behaviours, which found a significant correlation between the consumption of violent pornography and attitudes supporting violence against women and misogyny. In addition, the report states that Migrant women and women of colour are overrepresented in the sex trade the world over, and pornography is no exception. Multiple studies demonstrate the extent to which mainstream pornographic content promotes racist attitudes and stereotypes.'

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'The commercial sex trade including pornography and prostitution, is a multibillion-euro business that promotes the dehumanisation of women and girls both directly and indirectly. It hooks young people, particularly boys and men, and exposes them to increasingly extreme and often violent sex that contributes to how they behave

Advertising is a multi billion earning industry because it works and it does this by presenting repeating visual and audible campaigns that create emotional and sensory connections with us.
By the same process, anyone who regularly gets emotionally and physically stimulated when watching pornography is very likely going to want to emulate what they see when in a similar ‘real life’ situation. It makes sense to me that they work on the same principles.
So crap that we’re having to ‘prove’ this is what’s happening when it’s so f*cking obvious.

I must say I find it really upsetting the number of threads on MN where the OP comes on and describes an extremely dysfunctional relationship with a husband/ partner/ bf and throws in the fact he uses pornography. But they dismiss this with " but of course I have no problem with him using porn".
It's inexplicable to me that so many women really seem to be blind to the link between the use of porn and the man' s behaviour to them, and other women.
It's just so obvious. And there is plenty of research about the negative effect of pornography which just gets ignored. I hope this report doesn't get ignored.

In February 2025 Baroness Bertin released her recommendations for changes to porn regulation in UK. Among other things this aims to ban violent and incest porn. Over 20% of the content of a major porn page in February promoted these themes.

I have started a petition for the UK gov to fully implement these recommendations. As a therapist I often find clients start watching porn from the age of 10 up.

Please Sign the petition.

If you want more of a background then read this article.

Thanks!