72-year-old Arkansas Congresswoman Officially Gets the State to Declare Pornography a Public Health Crisis

Introduced by Rep. Karilyn Brown, the Arkansas resolution in part says, "pornography normalizes violence and abuse of women and children by depicting rape and abuse as if such acts are harmless.... [D]ue to advances in technology and the universal availability of the Internet, the average age of exposure to pornography is currently 11 to 12 years of age."



Further, exposure to porn may "lead to the hypersexualization of teenagers and even prepubescent children" and "research indicates that pronography is potentially biologically addictive."



"[P]ornography can increase the demand for prostitution and the sex trafficking and slavery of children and young adults, primarily girls," and "pornography use can be linked to lessening desire to marry, dissatisfaction in marriage, and infidelity," states the resolution. Also, "this link demonstrates that pornography can have a detrimental effect on the family," and, as a multi-billion-dollar industry, pornography's "influences are reaching the highest levels of society and government."



As a result, the Arkansas Assembly recognizes the "public health crisis created by pornography and the sexually toxic environment it perpetuates and acknowledge the need for education, prevention, research, and policy change at the community and societal levels in order to address the epidemic that is harming the people of our state and our country as a whole."



Commenting on Arkansas's actions, Dawn Hawkins, executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, said, “Personal stories from millennials who experienced negative side effects from exposure to Internet pornography at a young age, and peer-reviewed research, combine to paint a clear picture: pornography harms individuals regardless of age, race, or sexual orientation.”