Let's Hear it for Internet Porn!

In defense of Internet pornography

Clemson study links rape drop to Internet

By Bob Dyer
Beacon Journal columnist

Published on Thursday, Jan 29, 2009

Sex crimes among Summit County juveniles are at their lowest rate since record-keeping began in 1989. Officials are baffled as to why.

Well, I can tell them why, and I can tell them in just one word: porn.

Never has pornography been more readily available. The hardest of hard-core smut can be seen every day by anybody with a computer and an Internet connection.

Isn't porn supposed to lead to more sexual abuse of girls and women? Well, that was the theory, voiced constantly and vehemently for decades. But statistics show precisely the opposite.

During the 15-year period ending in 2008, the rate of forcible rape dropped a staggering 30 percent nationwide.

In 1992 — the Dark Ages of the Internet — about 43 people were raped among every 100,000 Americans, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Since then, the rate has dropped to 30 per 100,000.

With rare exceptions — so rare that they make front-page news — males are the sexual predators, not females. Males are much more easily stimulated visually. And if they can see virtually anything they want at any time, for free, without even leaving their house, maybe that's not such a bad thing — at least in terms of crime prevention.

To be sure, rape is a crime of violence. But it's also a crime of lust. And if somebody who is twisted enough to contemplate rape is now taking matters into his own hands, so to speak, perhaps his blinding drive for immediate gratification is safely eliminated.

Speculation that stricter laws have led to the local decrease in juvenile sex crimes is laughable. The inner workings of a worked-up juvenile mind, when contemplating an attack, simply do not include this thought: ''Gosh, I'd better not do this because now sex offenders have to register their address more often.''

Speculation that more sex crimes are going unreported also seems silly. Never has a society been more open about matters of sex and violence. Watched any TV lately?

Educational campaigns also have made it more likely, not less likely, that victims will speak out.

But some local experts aren't buying my theory.

Karen Cimini, a psychologist at Akron Family Institute whose specialities include sexual issues, says rape ''has more to do with control and power.''

She suggests that one reason for the drop is that ''perhaps we're getting better at protecting ourselves.''

OK, but 30 percent better?

''It's an interesting question to me, and I don't have anything scientific to offer you, other than my gut says there's not a link.''

A colleague of hers, Mike Smith, frequently provides court-ordered counseling to sex offenders. He isn't buying my theory, either.

Although he says potential rapists might be drawn to Web sites that enact rape, ''that doesn't in my estimation quench their thirst.''

Mixed in with their issues of power, control and anger, Smith says, is ''having that actual victim there in front of you that you're controlling and forcing to do your will.''

He agrees that harsher penalties are not a deterrent to juvenile sex offenders — ''Most of them don't know anything about [the laws] until after they're caught'' — but, he says, something else might be at work, statistically speaking.


Since the state beefed up its registration and reporting requirements for juvenile sex offenders, he says, the justice system is pulling its punches.

''The juvenile courts are tending to not charge as high as they used to because of that law. Many of the people involved in the courts don't feel that that law is truly beneficial or appropriate. And I would have to agree.''

In other words, a teen who once would have been charged with sexual assault might now be charged only with assault.

Still, that doesn't explain the nationwide plunge in sex crimes. And there's actually some legitimate research that suggests an inverse connection between Internet access and sex crimes.

In 2006, a Clemson University professor presented a paper at Stanford Law School showing that states where the Internet had expanded the most enjoyed the biggest declines in rape. He said a 10 percent increase in Internet access resulted in a 7 percent decrease in rape.

Obviously, there's no easy way to prove or disprove this theory.

Cimini's gut tells her there's no connection. My gut tells me something else.

My gut says that, although easy porn might not be the total explanation, it's a big part of it.

After all, we do refer to these attacks as ''sex'' crimes.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or [email protected].



Sex crimes among Summit County juveniles are at their lowest rate since record-keeping began in 1989. Officials are baffled as to why.

Well, I can tell them why, and I can tell them in just one word: porn.

Never has pornography been more readily available. The hardest of hard-core smut can be seen every day by anybody with a computer and an Internet connection.

Isn't porn supposed to lead to more sexual abuse of girls and women? Well, that was the theory, voiced constantly and vehemently for decades. But statistics show precisely the opposite.

During the 15-year period ending in 2008, the rate of forcible rape dropped a staggering 30 percent nationwide.

In 1992 — the Dark Ages of the Internet — about 43 people were raped among every 100,000 Americans, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report. Since then, the rate has dropped to 30 per 100,000.

With rare exceptions — so rare that they make front-page news — males are the sexual predators, not females. Males are much more easily stimulated visually. And if they can see virtually anything they want at any time, for free, without even leaving their house, maybe that's not such a bad thing — at least in terms of crime prevention.

To be sure, rape is a crime of violence. But it's also a crime of lust. And if somebody who is twisted enough to contemplate rape is now taking matters into his own hands, so to speak, perhaps his blinding drive for immediate gratification is safely eliminated.

Speculation that stricter laws have led to the local decrease in juvenile sex crimes is laughable. The inner workings of a worked-up juvenile mind, when contemplating an attack, simply do not include this thought: ''Gosh, I'd better not do this because now sex offenders have to register their address more often.''

Speculation that more sex crimes are going unreported also seems silly. Never has a society been more open about matters of sex and violence. Watched any TV lately?

Educational campaigns also have made it more likely, not less likely, that victims will speak out.

But some local experts aren't buying my theory.

Karen Cimini, a psychologist at Akron Family Institute whose specialities include sexual issues, says rape ''has more to do with control and power.''

She suggests that one reason for the drop is that ''perhaps we're getting better at protecting ourselves.''

OK, but 30 percent better?

''It's an interesting question to me, and I don't have anything scientific to offer you, other than my gut says there's not a link.''

A colleague of hers, Mike Smith, frequently provides court-ordered counseling to sex offenders. He isn't buying my theory, either.

Although he says potential rapists might be drawn to Web sites that enact rape, ''that doesn't in my estimation quench their thirst.''

Mixed in with their issues of power, control and anger, Smith says, is ''having that actual victim there in front of you that you're controlling and forcing to do your will.''

He agrees that harsher penalties are not a deterrent to juvenile sex offenders — ''Most of them don't know anything about [the laws] until after they're caught'' — but, he says, something else might be at work, statistically speaking.


Since the state beefed up its registration and reporting requirements for juvenile sex offenders, he says, the justice system is pulling its punches.

''The juvenile courts are tending to not charge as high as they used to because of that law. Many of the people involved in the courts don't feel that that law is truly beneficial or appropriate. And I would have to agree.''

In other words, a teen who once would have been charged with sexual assault might now be charged only with assault.

Still, that doesn't explain the nationwide plunge in sex crimes. And there's actually some legitimate research that suggests an inverse connection between Internet access and sex crimes.

In 2006, a Clemson University professor presented a paper at Stanford Law School showing that states where the Internet had expanded the most enjoyed the biggest declines in rape. He said a 10 percent increase in Internet access resulted in a 7 percent decrease in rape.

Obviously, there's no easy way to prove or disprove this theory.

Cimini's gut tells her there's no connection. My gut tells me something else.

My gut says that, although easy porn might not be the total explanation, it's a big part of it.

After all, we do refer to these attacks as ''sex'' crimes.
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