Thirty percent of women are addicted to it. Sixty-seven percent of men say they look at it at least once a month.

“It” refers to pornography. The statistics above reveal how pornography is an epidemic within the church community, and these numbers mirror secular statistics. The percentages are provided by Transparent Ministries and Morality in Media, respectively.

Morality in Media (MIM), a national organization opposing pornography and indecency, is fighting to combat this growing trend. It is in its last week of the National Awareness Campaign, entitled “Be Aware: Porn Harms.” This week, the focus is on how pornography harms women. With an increase in pornography consumption, there is an alleged link to the increase in violence against women.

Dawn Hawkins, Morality in Media’s executive director, says that the kind of videos the porn industry produces has grown more violent in recent years due to its popularity among consumers.

“Spousal violence is also one of our greatest concerns – the husband consuming violent porn and then living out the pornographic scenes in his marriage,” said Hawkins.

Patrick Trueman, president of Morality in Media, agrees with Dawkins and told Catholic News that when men view violent porn there is not only an increase in violent behavior but sex trafficking as well. Men who view pornography see sex as “hiring prostitutes.”

Trueman explained in a statement that studies reveal pornography leads to violence because the excitement factor for porn eventually diminishes. As a result, the consumer requires more extreme, or deviant, material in order to reach the same level of excitement.

“Internet pornography consumers are essentially training their brains to demand violence, because the images available are unimaginably depraved and violent. By not putting a stop to this illegal pornography available on the Internet, our country is creating a culture of violence for today’s woman.”

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