Debate - Rajmi Manatunga:

Ban on porn boon for future

R. F. Maria DINESHAN

The younger generation of today who will be guiding the world tomorrow is facing various predicaments. While poverty and death due to starvation, contagious diseases such as AIDS push the children towards death, another segment is transformed into drug peddlers, child labors and armed fighters.

Consequently young age deaths increase and the number of children being disabled is also is on the increase. Compulsory education to which they are eligible is also beyond their reach.

Apart from this the sudden growth of science has brought the world at a distance to be reached by the finger tip. Computer has been pushed back as belonging to yesterday and mobile phone has ascended the ruling dais. It will not be surprising to see mobile phones of the size of box of matches with many facilities tomorrow.

Hands used once upon a time to hunt wild animals and do cultivation are now used to receive and bring to us the happenings in the nook and corners of the world. Information communication technology with its increased ability to suck information through video and audio facilities has brought evils that cannot be avoided like an uninvited guest. These create new types of crimes and criminals capable of lacerating the healthy and bright future, appearing as very dangerous.

Pornography has entered its roots through all the communication apparatuses in this commercialized world. Films, photos, drawing, sculpture, painting, animation, video and sound recording with the main objective of creating sexual impulses to the viewer constitute pornography.

There are no strict activities to prevent these materials reaching the children of 18 years in certain countries and 21 years in some other countries is not available to the required extent.

Apart from all other avenues pornography through online internet has become a worldwide problem. Because this could be obtained by everyone with the knowledge of using internet facilities without any differences of age or race.

Statistics collected on international level have revealed shocking information.

* 2 millions Websites are found to be containing pornography. This is 12% of the total number of websites.

* 42.7% internet users are to be pornographic viewers.

* Downloaded materials from internet amounting to 35% are connected with pornography.

* Of the e-mails sent out 2.5 billion e-mails are porn emails which amount to 8% of the total number of e-mails.

* 68 million searching requests are in respect of pornography. This is 25% of the total number of search.

* 72 million visitors view pornographic pages.

* Sex has become the world mostly used in the internet for searching.

* Of the porn subscribers of internet 72% are males and 28% are females.

* Of the assessed 372 million websites 3% are produced by UK, 4% are produced by Germany 89% are produced by US.

* “MSN” website is viewed by 220 million people, while “you tube” website is viewed by 196 million people, “Adult friend finder” website by 7.2 million persons and “NY Times” website is visited by 4.1 million people, daily.

* US $ 3,075.64 is spent every second on internet porn.

* 28,258 internet viewers visit pornography every second.

* Every second 372 persons search for the term regarding adults.

* In US, a new porn video is created for every 39 minutes.

* 266 new porn sites appear in the internet every day.

* Income from the pornography industry appears higher than the top technology companies such as Microsoft, Google and Yahoo.

* US earned $ 2.84 billion as income through internet porn in 2006.

Through porn is considered a sin by religions, despised in culture and legislative restrictions have been made its domination has to be viewed with distress.

On the container of poisonous items used in the households we observe the wordings “Dangerous”, “keep out of the children”. But porn sites which would be able to create greater risks could be viewed by everyone except the blind. This gives us real anxiety.

There are millions of websites which do not take any other precaution other than showing “Adults only”, “if you are under 18 years old exit now” on the front page.

Child pornography has become an industry bringing in billions of money. Showing children in undressed position, showing the children in erotic poses or engaging in sexual activities are all pornography.

Of the total number of the pornography websites one fifth are child pornography websites.

* The largest groups of porn viewers are between the ages of 12-17.

* More than 11million teens visit porn sites regularly.

* Nine out of ten children of 8 to 16 years unintentionally enter the porn sites while searching for information or pictures required for their educational needs.

* About 20 to 30% congestion found in the adult internet porn industry is presumed to be from children.

Beyond the online internet porn it happens to be of much help development of the Hand phone cultural porn.

Mobile phones with the facilities of camera, video, MMS and internet create nearly what is attained through the internet porn.

Net cafes and CD, DVD, Cassettes, Magazines dealers mushroomed and entered the remote villages are distributing porn materials to the children with the sole intention of earning money and not in the least considering the welfare of society. They have a secret large network.

Porn materials are freely available through computer connections with internet facilities available from house to house.

Pornography which induces Voyeurism (sexual pleasure from observing other’s sexual activity or organs) which naturally exists in human in a condition of slumber, leads to unacceptable lifestyle and criminal activities. Cyber crime has become a headache to the police departments in every country.

Persons in the young age groups continuously induced through porn viewing become slaves to it become spoilt by themselves. Females are not an exception to this. Persons trying to satisfy the cravings engage in homosexual, heterosexual relations. These types of unnatural sex become the basis for male impotence state according medical information.

The chief factor behind the spreading of AIDS which is a world wide problem is pornography. This is not a hidden secret. Illegal drug consumption is encouraged as porn models, actors and actresses spend their income on drugs consumption.

Porn intensifies the violence against women like adding fuel to the fire. It has been revealed from inquires that those engaged in criminal acts such as rape and harassment are porn viewers. Porn increases such crimes.

Porn provides a good “fodder” to the children of young age anxious to know everything.

While the outcome from pornography is in the state there is no dearth of persons accepting and supporting it.

Pornography producer Larry Flynt and writer Salman Rushdie argue that porn is also type of freedom. There are people rezoning out that the criminal activities become lesser by viewing porn other violence internet and those proposing criminal activities tend to avoid such acts.

Leaders of countries having observed that porn danger is going out of control have forced the activities to strain the porn sites and ban them if the need arises.

* 87% of Internet Service Providers (ISP) of America have signed an agreement to prohibit viewing child pornography in July 2008.

* In Singapore the government has decided to close down two video sharing porn sites.

* Government of Indonesia has decided to block porn websites.

* The British Telecom had closed down all the child porn websites in 2004.

* Iran where 12 million youths visit porn has banned porn sites.

* In July 2008 one MP of Bahrain has requested to ban porn websites.

* The information communication ministry of Thailand has started a free charge program titled “Housekeeper 2008” in order to block obscene websites.

* Egypt, Kuwait, Malaysia, Kenya, India, Cuba and China have banned porn sites.

* The President has ordered to filter the porn sites in our country.

Closing the online porn sites to safeguard our generation who are liable to misbehave due to the danger of the blazing porn dangers worldwide will not be a satisfying action.

By introducing strict customs practice the entry of books, magazines, CD, DVD, VCD and Cassettes containing matters that could induce sexual feelings should be prohibited and action should be taken to see that such items do not reach the children.

Persons engaged in producing and selling and distributing porn materials to children using the loopholes in the rules and regulations of the country and violating such regulations should be brought to court and get them severe punishment.

It is evident from the newspapers reports that the sale of porn materials is going in full swing in the capital city of Colombo and the chief customers are students from famous colleges.

The behavior of the police acting as blind men through them have clear eyes should be condemned.

In the event of finding the existing laws are not sufficient to control the porn there should be no delay in legislating new Laws.

I wish to point out the words of Jesus in the bible advising that those who are hindering to children should be pushed into the sea with a big stone bound to their necks.

Obscene information and pictures should be filtered in MMS and SMS in order to reduce the spread of porn and the traffic police examining the mobile phones and conducting sudden checks on CD traders, recording centers and Net cafes will reduce the spread of porn.

Action should be taken to ensure sufficient protection facilities to prohibit the entry of children into theaters screening Adults only films and night clubs and it would be better to introduce the examining of Identity cards to find out age. Children caught in these places should be severely warned.

It is not good for the children to be users of hand phones. In such cases they should be given only the phones without internet, MMS and camera facilities. I am forced to mention this here because a mobile phone establishment has recently started to provide mobile phones (connection) to children.

Young age interest on porn should be reduced through proper sex education with the help of resource persons at the proper age in the appropriate way through syllabus or any other suitable ways.

Viewing porn sites is a past time for many people. Such persons should be identified and directed towards other sectors such as sports.

Parents in the houses with computers should be very alert. If such computer has internet connection and used by the children of young age the alertness should be very high.

Where do you keep the computer in your home? It should be strictly kept away from your child’s private room. Keep it in the hall or place it in a position for the screen to be seen by every one.

Bring it under your observation. Keep an eye on the sites visited by your children, regarding the terms used in searching and using of input sources. Results of the researches reveal that many teens enter porn sites only unexpectedly.

The action of straining the porn sites taken by the president in order to nurture future citizens to be healthy psychologically, physically and socially will no doubt bring in good benefits.

The writer is a student of Allied Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jaffna.