Porn viewing makes people indifferent towards human slavery: Report

Washington, Feb 25 (IANS) Watching porn or visiting strip clubs frequently can affect people's attitude and beliefs towards the ills associated with human trafficking, reveals new research.

According to a team from Northeastern University, Colorado College and Texas Christian University, “viewing pornography, strip bar attendance and engaging in prostitution all contributed to a more laissez-faire [allow to do] attitude toward the practice of such 'human slavery.'”

The study titled “Identifying Effective Counter-Trafficking Programs and Practices in the U.S.: Legislative, Legal, and Public Opinion Strategies that Work” represents the first-ever report on the efficacy of the US' anti-human trafficking efforts.

Northeastern criminologist Amy Farrell and her colleagues Drs Vanessa Bouche and Dana Wittmer broke up the report into three parts: evaluating how state anti-trafficking statues impact human trafficking arrests and prosecutions; analysing state human trafficking cases; and assessing public opinion on human trafficking.

According to LifeSiteNews.com, one of the conclusions was that “[s]ex-related behaviours affect beliefs about human trafficking.”

“Respondents who consumed pornography within the last year have more knowledge of human trafficking, but they think that it should be less of a government priority,” the findings showed.

The study also found that few US states have developed the expertise to consistently charge human traffickers and that certain sex-related behaviours impact beliefs about what has now become known as modern-day slavery.

“Respondents visiting a strip club within the last year reported lower levels of concern about human trafficking and thought that human trafficking should be less of a government priority than those respondents not visiting a strip club within the last year,” the study further wrote.

Farrell and her colleagues wrote in the report: “The research suggests that in the absence of strong state investment, safe harbor, and civil actions provisions, a state’s human trafficking enforcement will be lacking.”

According to Farrell, “we believe this work will be important in informing legislative responses to human trafficking in the future and helping to guide implementation of new anti-trafficking laws.”

The findings were published by the National Institute of Justice which funded the research with a three-year, $500,000 grant.