Over 100 quick stats and findings from an ever-growing body of research that details the effects of porn for individuals, relationships, and society.
Sex trafficking is a commercial sex act that is brought about by force, fraud, or coercion, or where someone under 18 is involved.
Of domestic minor trafficking victims who had been forced into porn production, the average age they began being filmed was 12.8 years old.
One study shows that approximately 45% of teens who consumed porn did so in part to learn about sex.
Research suggests that frequent porn consumers are more likely to express an intent to rape.
Nearly half of porn scenes (48.7%) contained verbal aggression, according to a study of popular porn videos.
According to studies analyzing the content of popular porn videos, at least 1 in 3 and as many as 9 in 10 porn videos depict sexual violence or aggression.
A 2021 study analyzed videos from popular porn sites and found that porn featuring Black people tends to perpetuate harmful racist stereotypes, disproportionately emphasize violence and aggression, and often depicts Black people as “worse than objects.”
Reports show that those who sexually abuse children often show their victims porn to groom them or normalize sexual abuse.
Research has found that porn featuring Asian people often promotes racism by focusing on degrading stereotypes, including presenting Asian women as submissive objects.
83% of active 2020 sex trafficking cases involved online solicitation, which is overwhelmingly the most common tactic traffickers use to solicit sex buyers.
While not all porn features physical violence, even non-violent porn has been shown to be associated with negative effects like increased sexual aggression
A 2016 meta-analysis of 22 studies from seven countries found that internationally, the consumption of pornography was significantly associated with increases in sexual aggression, both verbally and physically among males and females alike.
Findings of a qualitative study indicated that teens often reported trying to copy porn in their own sexual encounters, and that the pressure to imitate porn was often an aspect of unhealthy relationships.
According to a 2018 study of "child porn" victims, survivors reported that the images of their abuse caused different problems than the sexual abuse itself, including distress over being recognized from the images.
In one survey of underage sex trafficking victims, 63% said they had been advertised or sold online.
Studies show that people who consume porn frequently are more likely to support sexual violence.
44.6% of underage sex trafficking victims experienced childhood sexual abuse before entry into the commercial sex industry.
According to a UK survey of over 22,000 adult women, 16% reported having been forced or coerced to perform sex acts the other person had seen in porn.
Research indicates that only 18.3% of women in popular porn videos (compared to 78% of men) were depicted as reaching climax.
Researchers have found that approximately 95% of the targets of violence or aggression in porn appeared either neutral to the abuse, or were depicted as responding with pleasure.
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