New Study: Impact of Pornography on Sexual Violence
Sexual violence continues to be one of the most widespread and usually invisible forms of violence. According to the most recent data from the Ministry of the Interior between 2015 and 2021, the number of reported incidents of sexual violence in Spain has almost doubled, from 9,869 in 2015 to 9,869 in 2021.
The cases of sexual assault, according to the Balance of Criminality in Spain have increased by 53.2%. Recently, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has spoken about the frightening increase in crimes of sexual violence perpetrated by underage boys against girls, linking it to the consumption of pornography.
The question, then, is whether (and how) the consumption of pornography influences the exercise of sexual violence or whether, on the contrary, such use is completely harmless. To shed some light on such a relevant question, Lobby Europeo de Mujeres en España, EWL national coordination in Spain, published a new report titled "Impact of male pornography consumption on the perpetration of sexual violence".
The report draws on feminist studies and psychology to discuss the subject from a feminist perspective, with clear and essential conclusions that allow us to understand the links
between pornography and sexual violence, as well as the role they play on a structural level in the current patriarchal system.
