NCJ Number
114443
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This overview of the pornography industry in Canada focuses on films that portray violent sex, with attention to the impact on potential criminals and young people, citizen efforts to combat pornography, censorship issues, and public attitudes.
Abstract
Examples collected by Canada's Project P, the national law enforcement unit which investigates pornography, demonstrate how sex and violence rather than erotics dominate today's pornography. Project P officers express concerns that such pornography condones sex offenders' behavior. Another researcher describes a University of Wisconsin study which found that students who viewed pornographic films over a 1-2 week period gradually became desensitized to violence. In highlights from another research project, 75% of students surveyed at the University of Manitoba reported they found some aspect of rape sexually exciting. Censorship policies of Great Britain, Sweden, and the United States are examined. Since censorship in Canada is a provincial matter, the videotape offers comments from a censorship official in Ontario and spotlights efforts by citizen groups in Vancouver and Newfoundland to ban violent, sexist pornography. Also explored are York University studies on male attitudes toward violence versus erotic pornography and the influence of films and rock videos on youth. Finally, a summary of a Canadian attitude survey notes that most adults favor restrictions on pornography.