Washington, May 22 (IANS): Porn addiction, especially among young adults, is behind the growing sexual crimes against women and children, leaving families and societies devastated, a new documentary released by US-based non-profit Family Watch International (FWI) has emphasised.
Young children who have access to technology are being exposed to pornography and their immature brains are not equipped to handle these images.
"It only takes a fraction of a second for explicit images to be permanently imprinted on the brain. The majority of these images give an unrealistic distorted view of sex, most often depicting the demeaning of and violence against women," said Sharon Slater, president of FWI, in a statement available on the FWI website.
The 28-minute documentary, titled "The Porn Pandemic: The Devastating Effects on Children, Family and Society", presents "scientific evidence, expert commentary and personal testimonies showing the addictive nature of pornography", Slater added.
Launched during the 'End Exploitation Summit' - the first major conference on anti-pornography and exploitation in Washington, DC, recently - the documentary features interviews with experts on the issue of pornography and how it hurts those who view it.
Former porn addicts and their family members have shared their stories in the documentary.
"We learn how early exposure to pornography can lead to a long term debilitating addiction that devastates marriages and family relationships and can lead to acting out in dangerous ways," Slater maintained.
Children can have secret addictions that they carry well into adulthood that negatively impacts their ability to do well in school or at work.
"This negatively impacts their attitudes towards girls and later toward their spouses, and even their ability to function sexually with real people," Slater noted.
According to David Wright, a Washington-based professional counsellor for married couples who was featured in the documentary, "90 percent of the people I see with marriage issues have pornography issues as well."
The organisation now aims to show this film at the United Nations and to organise a "First Ladies Summit to Combat Pornography", Slater concluded.