Studying the Link Between Pornography and Child Sexual Abuse

A Conversation with Dr. Jennifer A. Johnson

Dr. Jennifer A. Johnson is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech. Her current work analyzes the relationship between pornography consumption, sexual health, and sexual victimization among early adolescents. Previously, she used social network analysis to map how the pornography industry markets and relates to users.

Through her in-depth exploration and analysis of pornography and child sexual abuse — spanning multiple countries and 50 child advocates — Dr. Johnson and colleagues aim to identify the risk factors that increase the likelihood of children being exposed to pornography and child sexual abuse: “Our aspiration is that this model can serve as a valuable tool for raising awareness among child advocates, social workers, educators, and healthcare providers regarding the ways in which pornography is entangled with child sexual abuse.”

Dr. Johnson will discuss her research and present findings at Culture Reframed’s upcoming virtual conference, “The Impact of Pornography on Young People,” on November 16, 2023. Learn more about the conference and register here.

In this interview, Dr. Johnson shares the most important findings of her research, her advice for caregivers of children and adolescents based on what she’s learned through this project, and how Culture Reframed’s Dr. Gail Dines inspired her work.

What led you to research the relationship between pornography and child sexual abuse?

For several years, I have collaborated with a team of researchers on questions concerning pornography use and its implications for sexual health. Our initial research concentrated on the patterns of pornography consumption among college students and its influence on their relational well-being and sexual satisfaction. Our findings revealed that increased rates of pornography use were associated with a reduction in sexual satisfaction, diminished feelings of intimacy with partners, and a heightened dependence on the sexual scripts depicted in pornography for deriving sexual pleasure. Notably, these associations were more pronounced among males than females, with men expressing a greater preference for degrading or unconventional sexual acts depicted in pornography.

Another aspect of my research explores the technological and economic foundations of the online pornography industry. My work highlights how the online pornography industry integrates advanced algorithms and marketing strategies into social media, video games, and push technologies to actively target and recruit consumers, including young people. The objective of the industry is to present consumers with pornographic content that is most likely to convert their curiosity into revenue-generating engagement, be it through clicks, subscriptions, or live streams. Consequently, young people are exposed to adult sexual content that often surpasses their level of sexual maturity, increasing their vulnerability to adverse consequences associated with pornography consumption.

These two research agendas converged to raise questions about the impact of pornography on young people’s attitudes and behaviors. With the support of funding through Culture Reframed and in response to growing concerns among child advocates who work with children who are sexually abused, we launched a research project designed to explore the possible role of pornography in child sexual abuse. To date, we have interviewed 50 child advocates from four countries asking them to contemplate whether and in what ways they perceive pornography as being connected to child sexual abuse.

Can you share some insights from your research?

Through those 50 interviews, it was clear that pornography was implicated in complex ways in child sexual abuse. Child advocates discussed the various manners in which new technologies heightened the risk of children encountering pornography. They relayed instances where children were exposed through avenues such as video games, social media, direct messaging, texting, and unrestricted access to the internet. Parental involvement and technological literacy played a substantial role in determining exposure levels; children with parents who were unable to actively monitor their online activities, either due to time constraints, a lack of technical proficiency, or little understanding as to the type of content and level of violence in today’s online pornography, faced a heightened risk of exposure. Moreover, the absence of community resources to support parents, such as the lack of comprehensive sexual education in schools or the awareness and attention of pediatricians, also increased the vulnerability of children to exposure.

What surprised you the most?

What proved to be most startling was the revelation that much of the abuse occurred among peers, with young people even taking on the role of initiators of sexual abuse. Many of the child advocates shared stories of young people who were exposed to pornography at home through various technological means and subsequently engaged in abusive behavior towards their peers or siblings, often as a form of imitation and social modeling. In many of these cases, the children involved had little to no intention to harm, and they lacked knowledge or experience in matters of sex. Instead, they were imitating what they had seen in pornography without comprehending the sexual or emotional consequences, both as the instigator of abuse and the recipient of it.

However, several accounts from child advocates underscored that older children and teenagers possessed an understanding of these implications and often wielded pornography as a tool for power and manipulation. Practices such as revenge porn, defined as the sharing of sexual images without mutual consent, were common, as was the use of the threat of public exposure of such images to exert control over victims. This included instances where the threat was employed to coerce victims into not reporting the abuse. For numerous victims, the normalization of pornographic content had reached a point where they themselves failed to recognize the harm inflicted during the abuse. For instance, many victims did not identify strangulation as a form of harm, even when it posed a life-threatening risk.

What do you hope to achieve with your findings?

The model we developed aims to delineate the risk factors that heighten the likelihood of children being exposed to pornography and child sexual abuse. These factors include parent-child relationships, evolving technologies, the presence or absence of community resources, and the broader cultural and social narratives that normalize abuse and inequalities. Our model then outlines how pornography is intertwined with child sexual abuse, including its role in social modeling among inexperienced children, the normalization of pornographic sexual behaviors, the grooming of children and adolescents, and the utilization of pornography to coerce or threaten victims. As a result, child abuse can also contribute to pornography, either through the documentation and dissemination of child sexual abuse or through the consumption of pornography by victims, including children, as a coping mechanism for the trauma they have endured. Our aspiration is that this model can serve as a valuable tool for raising awareness among child advocates, social workers, educators, and healthcare providers regarding the ways in which pornography is entangled with child sexual abuse.

Based on your research, what advice would you give to caregivers of children and adolescents?

At the individual level, my advice to parents is to establish open lines of communication with their children regarding topics related to sex, sexuality, and pornography. Young people require a trusted and safe environment to ask questions about sexual exploration and development without experiencing shame or judgment. Additionally, parents should strive to maintain a basic level of technological literacy to the best of their abilities. While it is unreasonable to expect every parent to be an expert on all the ways in which technology enables access to various content, the pace of technological change and complexity can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, with open and trusted communication, parents can assist their children in navigating online activities and intervene when necessary.

On an institutional level, I would recommend that schools, healthcare professionals, and policymakers take steps to educate themselves and the families they serve about the impact of pornography on sexual health and development. This education should be delivered through comprehensive and inclusive sexual education programs that incorporate literacy on the realities and consequences of pornography.

How has working with Culture Reframed impacted your work?

Culture Reframed, and specifically the work of Dr. Gail Dines, has been critical to my ability to engage in this important scholarship. Through her mentorship, I have come to understand the value of effective and transformative research in the lives of young people who are surrounded by pornographic scripts. I met her when I was just beginning my career as an Assistant Professor of Sociology in 2005. Her presentation at my university not only revolutionized my perspective on how I should approach my research but also illuminated the ongoing discourse concerning the impact of pornography on sexual health. I came to understand the importance of those questions to the sexual health of young people and the value of approaching those questions through innovative social science research. This moment marked a profound transformation in my research endeavors and my approach to feminism.

Nearly two decades later, Dr. Gail Dines continues to provide mentorship and guidance, nurturing the development of my work with her unwavering commitment to Culture Reframed. Organizations dedicated to shedding light on sensitive and politically charged public health issues through data-driven approaches are of paramount importance. It was under her leadership that I had the opportunity to connect with my research colleagues, with whom I am collaborating on two projects funded by Culture Reframed. Dr. Dines serves as a constant source of inspiration and a formidable advocate, persistently raising awareness about the far-reaching impact of pornography on public health and the lives of young individuals.

Related content:
The Influence of Pornography on Child Sexual Assault
Culture Reframed’s Courses for Parents of Tweens & Teens
A New Tool to Support Porn-Critical Sex Education

Join our virtual conference on November 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET to explore the many harms of pornography to children with a focus on child sexual abuse. Doctors, psychologists, and front-line child protection professionals will share emerging research and first-hand experience identifying pornography consumption as a driver of child sexual abuse.