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Is Online Porn Responsible for Decrease in Rape Cases?

by Tim Stevens on February 2, 2009 at 08:30 AM

Is Internet Pornography Responsible for Decrease in Rape Cases?

Many (including Apple) see the prevalence of smut on the Internet as a problem that needs to be stopped, or at least stemmed, for the good of society. Columnist Bob Dyer at Ohio's Beacon Journal, however, has a rather different idea, thinking that perhaps it is responsible for a notable decrease in instances of violent rape across the last 15 years.

Statistics have shown that, in the period between 1992 and 2008, rape cases dropped nation-wide by 30-percent. In 1992, 43 people per 100,000 were forcibly raped, but in 1998 that dropped to 30 people. There are many theories, but these dates correspond nicely to the rise of the Internet among American consumers and, according to Dyer, the easy access to any sort of sexual content has helped to keep would-be offenders in check. Obviously this is a controversial theory that's difficult or impossible to prove, but one study at Clemson University in 2006 showed that states with the greatest prevalence of Internet use enjoyed the greatest decline in rape, meaning there may be something to this after all. [From: Ohio.com]

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Tags: clemson university, ClemsonUniversity, internet, porn, pornography, rape, study

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