Assistant Commissioner for the NSW Police Mark Murdoch, corporate spokesman for domestic violence in Australia's largest police force, says porn use among our young men is "the fastest growing part of the problem of domestic violence." (SMH 7 Dec 2014) In an article entitled How Porn Is Turning Boys Into Rapists Mr Murdoch warns that "easy access to pornography has caused sexual assaults by young men to double in five years." (Mercury 12 Oct 2014)
Inspector Sprague headed up the largest task force in Australia's law enforcement history in Melbourne's infamous Mr Cruel case. He says he is convinced that there is a "strong link between pornography and the amount of sex crimes we get." Victorian Crown Prosecutor Richard Read readilly admits that the link between porn and violence is "very clear." Even the Australian Law Reform Commission reports that "pornography is causally related to sexually violent behaviour."
Peer reviewed medical journal Medicine, Mind and Adolescence quotes University of Calgary scientist Dr Claudio Violato saying that the violence/porn link is now "clear and consistent" and it is time to look at some of the other dangers caused by porn. Pretty unambiguous language for a scientific journal.
Signs upon entering some of the Northern Territory's Aboriginal reserves state "NO PORNOGRAPHY" for a reason. ALL of our states have outlawed the sale, hire and display of X Rated DVDs, yet they are, for some insane reason, available in the territories where they are causing devastation in the Aboriginal communities and sent across the nation via Australia Post where they will cause further violence. "Aboriginal boys as young as eight are being used for sex and told 'its a cultural thing' (Aust 8 Sept 2006) according to Gary Lee, an indigenous man studying at Charles Darwin University for his PhD, young children are encountered whose behaviour is "totally sexualised" and worse he says, "Everybody knows it is happening." Mal Brough even says, due to pornography "there is a major problem with child sexual abuse in indigenous communities."
Porn is laying waste to Australia's young girls, our women and our youth. IF our governments were concerned about domestic violence they could quite easily do something about one of the major causes. A couple of simple, cost effective ideas should be welcomed. In Queensland the state government legally allows small children unrestricted access to the sale, display and perusal of Australian Penthouse magazine. Any thinking human knows Penthouse is not a children's magazine and allowing children's unrestricted access to such pornographic imagery is wrong. The Qld state government, as have the state governments of Victoria, Tasmania and NSW, could easily overrule the inadequate national guidelines and place ALL porn magazines in a "Restricted, AO" category, available and displayed only to adults.
As the federal government rules the territories, the Turnbull government, if it wants to curtail domestic violence, could quite easily place the same simple restrictions on X Rated DVDs in the territories as already exists in each of our states. They are banned in all of our states for a very good reason - they cause violence.
Also the biggest perpetrator of them all, the Internet, can be addressed. The government can legislate so that if you want X Rated porn on your computer, you must be over 18 and simply apply for it. This sensible idea is presently working its way through British parliament and addresses all the hard questions. It doesn't ban, burn or censor anything! Civil Liberties are all protected. If you want it, apply for it. Stiff penalties will apply to ISPs who send X Rated porn uninvited. Same should apply Down Under.
Sadly, unless and until one of the major reasons for domestic violence is addressed our women and young girls will continue to be cannon fodder for the sainted pornographers.