South Dakota and Virginia Declare Porn a Public Health Crisis
- Updated Feb 17, 2017
The states of South Dakota and Virginia both recently declared pornography a public health crisis, joining the state of Utah in recognizing the severity of porn’s effect on society.
In South Dakota, the resolution passed unanimously among legislators who noted that children are being exposed to porn “at an alarming rate,” and that porn is “linked to a lessening desire in young persons to marry.”
In Virginia, legislators acknowledged similar negative effects or porn, noting that exposure to porn has a direct correlation to “lessening desire in young men to marry, dissatisfaction in marriage and infidelity,” according to Relevant Magazine.
Last year, when Utah declared porn a public health crisis, many organizations applauded the resolution. Dawn Hawkins, the executive director of the National Center of Sexual Exploitation stated at the time, "The research is clear: pornography is significantly linked to decreased brain matter in regions of motivation and decision-making, and to increasing cases of sexual dysfunction.”
"Beyond the negative impact pornography can have on one's physical health, it is also associated with alarming social ills like increases in sexual violence and increased beliefs that women enjoy rape," she added. "Pornography is clearly a poison that any society striving for ideals of personal well-being, equality, and respect cannot tolerate.”
The new resolutions aim to not only raise awareness of porn’s negative effects, but to encourage action steps that can be taken to combat this national scourage.
The virginia resolution calls for more “education, prevention, research, and policy change at the community and societal level in order to address the pornography epidemic that is harming the people of the Commonwealth and the nation.”
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: February 17, 2017
