normalizing perversion
Rape rates have increased by 500% since 1960. This increase parallels the growth of the pornography industry in this country. Researcher Dr. W. Marshall published a report on the connection between pornography and rapists in the Journal of Sex Research in 1988. Marshall said that 86% of convicted rapists said they were regular users of pornography, and 57% admitted direct imitation of pornographic scenes when they committed rape.

In short, pornography is a teaching manual for rapists.

It provides the potential rapist with visual models to use in committing his crimes. Not all rapists, of course, are porn addicts. Many are sociopaths who use violence to punish women. It is a matter of having power over a person or inflicting pain upon them. There is no sexual satisfaction involved. Yet, pornography use is closely related to the propensity of a man to act out his sexual fantasies by raping a woman.

"A Guide to What One Person Can Do About Pornography" contains additional alarming statistics about the relationship between pornography and sex crimes. The report notes, for example:

• Detroit police Chief Herbert Case has observed, "There has not been a sex murder in the history of our department in which the killer was not an avid reader of lewd magazines."

• A study of "recreational killers" (individuals who kill for the fun) by the National Institutes of Mental Health reported that these killers are highly intelligent but are consumed with sadistic lust, and most "feed on pornography."

• Researchers Murray Straus and Larry Baron issued a report that found a high correlation between high rape rates and pornography use in both Alaska and Nevada. These researchers concluded, "The fact that sex magazine readership is strongly and consistently correlated with rape supports the theory that porn endorses attitudes that increase the likelihood of rape."

sex addiction
What are the characteristics of a sex addict?

Bill Perkins, writing in When Good Men Are Tempted, cites the work of therapist Patrick Carnes, a well-known expert on sexual addiction. Carnes says that there are four clear indicators that a person has become addicted to compulsive sexual behaviors.

ONE The sexual behavior is done in secret and the person frequently lies to cover up his actions;

TWO The behavior can become abusive and exploitative of others;

THREE The behavior is used to deaden painful feelings; and

FOUR The behavior is empty of genuine commitment and caring.

These are the warning signs that a person is addicted. The rising tide of sex addicts in this country is cause for alarm. Henry J. Rogers, writing in his book, The Silent War: Ministering to Those Trapped in the Deception of Pornography, says he interviewed a counselor who said the number of clients trapped by pornography has risen significantly during the last ten years.

The Internet is playing a major role in creating new sexual addicts.

The numbers tell the story, but they cannot give us the full impact of how these sex addicts are destroying their own lives and the lives of others. Dr. Patrick Carnes, a leading researcher on sexual addictions studied 932 sex addicts and found that 90% of the men and 77% of the women report that pornography is a significant element in their sexual addiction. He found two common elements in sex addiction: childhood abuse and frequent pornography use accompanied by masturbation.

The Internet is only compounding the problem and creating a whole new generation of sex addicts and potential sexual predators.

Charles Colson has called Internet pornography "spiritual crack cocaine".

~ For more information, buy In the Shadows of the Net, by Patrick J. Carnes, PhD

Copyright © 2004 Patrick J. Carnes