Pornography and Rape: An Examination of Adult Theater Rates and Rape Rates by State (From Controversial Issues in Crime and Justice, P 40-53, 1988, Joseph E Scott and Travis Hirschi, eds. -- See NCJ-110235)

• NCJ Number: 110237
• Author(s): J E Scott; L A Schwalm
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Sage Publications, Inc
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of the relationship between the numbers of adult theaters and rape rates in different States concludes that pornography may serve as a 'safety valve' in society rather than as a stimulus or catalyst with respect to assaults against women.

Abstract

This conclusion matches that of the 1970 President's Commission on Obscenity and Pornography, whose conclusions stimulated efforts from fundamentalists and feminists to limit the availability of certain sexually oriented material. The present analysis examined official statistics on rape rates for each State and the District of Columbia for 1982 and the data from the Adult Film Association of America, Inc., regarding the number of adult theaters in each State in 1983. Data on adult theaters for Arizona were unavailable, and the data for several other States required analysis of some States in pairs or groups. States were grouped into three categories based on the rape rates. Differences among categories were not statistically significant until additional variables known to be related to rape were added to the analysis. These variables included the degree of urbanization, alcohol consumption, poverty rates, the status of women, minority population, and the circulation of outdoor and general-readership magazines. These variables all accounted for more variation in States' rape rates than did the adult theater rate. Data table and 47 references.