Trigger warning: This post contains discussions surrounding child abuse, trauma, sexual assault, and suicide. Reader discretion is advised.
Porn consumers visit porn sites to experience a type of high grounded in fantasy. In porn, part of what makes the experience so attractive is the perceived health, beauty, and seductiveness of the performer. Consumers select porn based on their sexual interests and performer types. There are porn celebrities, actors, and actresses fawned over like famous motion picture celebrities; they even have their own awards.
But there’s an entire reality behind the lens—hidden, silenced, and seldom spoken of that many performers face.
A groundbreaking study from Sweden gives us an unfiltered look at the lives of 120 individuals who have been filmed in commercial pornography. The study doesn’t represent abstract statistics; this data was collected by real human beings grappling with profound trauma and continuous exploitation.
A Lifetime of Violence, Captured on Camera
The study, which analyzed the experiences of 120 adults documented in pornography production, paints a devastating picture. For most, pornography wasn’t the beginning of their exploitation, but a continuation of it.
Nearly every participant reported severe abuse in childhood—88% sexual, 90% psychological, or 79% physicalDonevan, M., Jonsson, L. S., & Svedin, C. G. (2025). The experience of individuals filmed for pornography production: a history of continuous polyvictimization and ongoing mental health challenges. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 79(2), 156–165. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2025.2464634Copy . By the time they entered adulthood, many carried the scars of multiple forms of trauma.
Studies show that those who experience extreme childhood trauma or abuse of any kind experience a rewiring of the brain, making themselves more vulnerable to being reabused and victimized. Sexual abuse victims are 48% more likely to be revictimized. Walker, Hannah E et al. “The Prevalence of Sexual Revictimization: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Trauma, violence & abuse vol. 20,1 (2019): 67-80. doi:10.1177/1524838017692364Copy Another study based in Wales showed that victims who experienced any form of abuse were twice as likely to experience physical assault, and three times as likely to experience intimate partner violence or sexual assault. The more types of abuse the individual experiences, the risks of being re-abused increase three to sevenfold. Butler, N., Quigg, Z. & Bellis, M.A. Cycles of violence in England and Wales: the contribution of childhood abuse to risk of violence revictimisation in adulthood. BMC Med 18, 325 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-020-01788-3Copy
For many of these victims, their abuse set the stage for their pornography career.
During filming of pornography 87% experienced verbal abuse and 56% physical assault. Over half of the individuals reported third-party control over their decisions and online harassment.
The most alarming statistic?
While filming pornography, 65% of performers were raped.
The viewer is there to be entertained. Yet, every click, every view, every share, and every comment further perpetuates the demand for further exploitation of real human beings who are behind the camera being mistreated, abused, and exploited.. That momentary high, is it worth it knowing what those behind the screen are really going through?
The Psychological Toll That Never Ends
What happens when abuse is not only experienced but recorded, shared, and distributed to strangers worldwide?
A staggering majority (84%) of participants met the criteria for clinically significant PTSD, many reporting dissociation (60%), flashbacks, and emotional numbness. At least 80% reported having at least one mental health diagnosis.
Over 68% reported attempting suicide.
Pornography takes advantage of the most vulnerable and exploits them until they feel there is nothing left.
Beyond individual struggles, this study highlights how pornography and the recording of sexually explicit experiences create ongoing trauma.
Even after filming, 94% received unsolicited sexual content, and over half discovered their images were shared without their permission.
For many performers or victims, their images and videos are reminders of abuse and retraumatization. Unsolicited redistributions, harassment, and stalking repeatedly turn their past
What You See Is Not Always What You Get
There’s a glaring truth: We simply don’t know what happens behind the camera. The consumer sees the final cut, not the coercion, fear, or violation endured during filming.
This study demands we peel back that facade.
It’s not just about what we view—it’s about who we’re hurting. People are facing trauma that’s layered, complex, and often invisible to the audience. You may never know what someone endured before, during, or after that “scene.”
This research should shake us at our core, because it forces us to confront an uncomfortable fact: pornography does not exist in a vacuum. Every click and every share has consequences.
We must discard the narrative that porn is “harmless entertainment.”
Every click fuels a system that thrives on cycles of abuse and re-victimization.
Survivors of pornography filming are not just individuals with isolated experiences; they represent a larger population whose trauma is compounded by the permanence of the internet.
When the bodies and lives of vulnerable individuals are packaged as commodities, it reflects and reinforces a culture that values profit and consumption over dignity and humanity. The normalization of such exploitation erodes our collective sense of empathy and connection.
For every video streamed, there may be a survivor reliving trauma every time their image resurfaces online.
If pornography is shaping our culture’s view of sex, power, and consent, then ignoring the lived experiences of those filmed in it means we are complicit in sustaining a cycle of abuse.
Choosing Humanity Over Exploitation
The Swedish study gives voice to those most often silenced—the people behind the images. Their pain tells us that pornography is not just pixels on a screen.
Let’s use these findings not just to inform, but to ignite change—for everyone who’s experienced abuse and exploitation, for every individual whose most intimate details are documented without consent. Let’s consider before consuming.
Your Support Matters Now More Than Ever
Most kids today are exposed to porn by the age of 12. By the time they’re teenagers, 75% of boys and 70% of girls have already viewed itRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy —often before they’ve had a single healthy conversation about it.
Even more concerning: over half of boys and nearly 40% of girls believe porn is a realistic depiction of sexMartellozzo, E., Monaghan, A., Adler, J. R., Davidson, J., Leyva, R., & Horvath, M. A. H. (2016). “I wasn’t sure it was normal to watch it”: A quantitative and qualitative examination of the impact of online pornography on the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of children and young people. Middlesex University, NSPCC, & Office of the Children’s Commissioner.Copy . And among teens who have seen porn, more than 79% of teens use it to learn how to have sexRobb, M.B., & Mann, S. (2023). Teens and pornography. San Francisco, CA: Common Sense.Copy . That means millions of young people are getting sex ed from violent, degrading content, which becomes their baseline understanding of intimacy. Out of the most popular porn, 33%-88% of videos contain physical aggression and nonconsensual violence-related themesFritz, N., Malic, V., Paul, B., & Zhou, Y. (2020). A descriptive analysis of the types, targets, and relative frequency of aggression in mainstream pornography. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(8), 3041-3053. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01773-0Copy Bridges et al., 2010, “Aggression and Sexual Behavior in Best-Selling Pornography Videos: A Content Analysis,” Violence Against Women.Copy .
From increasing rates of loneliness, depression, and self-doubt, to distorted views of sex, reduced relationship satisfaction, and riskier sexual behavior among teens, porn is impacting individuals, relationships, and society worldwideFight the New Drug. (2024, May). Get the Facts (Series of web articles). Fight the New Drug.Copy .
This is why Fight the New Drug exists—but we can’t do it without you.
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