STATISTICS
207,405 VIEWS OF PORN ARE ACCESSED EVERY MINUTE
(Forbes, 2020)
27% of non-consensual media is retrieved through images, videos, and recording,
23% privacy violation,
20% voyeurism,
11% peeping,
9% a combination,
and 11% disorderly conduct
(Psychology Today, 2020)
Non-consensual and Revenge Porn is the release of intimate images and videos without proper consent. Through sex tapes, explicit photos, upskirting, or hidden cameras, voyeurs and ex-partners have one goal: to expose an individual in a sexual way either for personal pleasure or to harass, threaten, coerce, or intimidate the person depicted (revenge). AMBER GINTER explores how it can affect young women and how we can pray for them.
WHAT IS HAPPENING? WHEN DID IT START?
Dating to the 1800s, porn is said to have originated as “a powerful vehicle for social and political protest” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2020). Deriving from a desire for pleasure, however, the exact origin is impossible to pinpoint because of its subjective definition. While many scholars side with the 1800s, others argue that the artistry of sexual religous art or explicit Rome sculptures could be the guilty culprit as well.
Nevertheless, fighting porn can be increasingly difficult. According to the NCSL(2020), non-consensual porn is popular as human trafficking with often deadly results. In a recent study, 1 in 20 females, 53% of 3,044 surveyed, reported revenge porn. As a result, these victims received numerous hate claims because of the leaked selfies.
Although many releases come from consensual uses sent to a lover, the difficulty is stopping the widespread availability once publicly exposed, especially when victims are unaware of its exposure. This can lead to significant mental health stresses and affect a young woman’s very identity.
BECAUSE CONTENT REMOVAL IS NOT CHEAP, PERPETRATORS MAKE BETWEEN $300 AND $550 ON EVERY CLICKED LINK.
WHY IS NO ONE DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT?
Porn is more accessible than ever before. With more social media platforms comes an increased risk of content spread. Because of accessibility and a low likelihood of being caught, non-consensual and revenge porn are in high demand with little repercussions for its viewers. Most victims never report the crime due to embarrassment, therefore, it goes unpunished. The Internet is always capturing our past, present, and future. It’s almost always irreversible and impossible to retrieve something once it’s released to the public, hence many victims feel a sense of helplessness and do not know what to do.
HOW CAN WE PRAY?
– Young women who are being harmed by non-consensual or revenge porn to not to be ashamed to get help, especially for mental-health issues.
– Perpetrators to be free of the greed of using non-consensual porn to make a profit.
– Victims and perpetrators alike to know that true love and fulfillment only comes from the Lord. Pornography kills love and reduces human beings to temporary pleasures which dissipate with its use.
– Young people to recognise that true sexual fulfillment can be found in the safety of covenantal marital relationships. “Love teaches us to serve others. Porn teaches us that others exist to serve us” (Covenant Eyes, 2020).
