‘Porn is the theory and rape is the practice’

Miriam Duffy from the Limerick Rape Crisis Centre (LRCC) borrows this quote to show there is no ambiguity on its stance towards pornography.

Dealing with the victims of rape, there is growing alarm at the impact this new sexual culture is having on society. Late last year the LRCC took the lead and organised a two-day conference in Limerick under the title Pornography: a Violence Against Women.

Ms Duffy said when talking to victims of rape the role of pornography can no longer be brushed off as harmless fun. “Whether a person uses pornography for a different purpose or not, eventually it leads them to believe what they are seeing on the screen is an accurate reflection of what they can expect from society and particularly from women.

“You have cases where porn is being used as a weapon and, within adult relationships, they are being confronted with porn and told this is normal and if you don’t do what she is doing you are not normal. It chips away at a woman’s self-esteem and, in turn, gives the man a false impression of what is acceptable.”

Last year, a survey was carried out by the Rape Crisis Network Ireland. Part of it looked at the infiltration of pornography. A number of services around the country said there was an increase in women reporting pornography as part of sexual abuse.

One worker in the south-west of Ireland cited a number of examples where women were photographed to mimic pornographic images, forced to take part in videos where other people were involved and being blackmailed with the prospect of these appearing on the internet.

Another woman in the west of Ireland said her husband was addicted to pornography and made her take part in videos, hitting out at her for being frigid if she shied away.

Dublin Rape Crisis Centre chief executive Ellen O’Malley Dunlop is adamant there is a “direct correlation” between the increased availability of pornography and the rising levels of violence. Speaking about yesterday’s Irish Examiner examination of extreme violence in hard-core material, she said it accurately reflects the reports it is getting from victims.

“What was described (yesterday) is what we are hearing and it is what is happening. It is not easy for us to get this across, because we have to protect the confidentiality of the victims, but I can tell what they are doing in pornography we are seeing in sexual assaults,” she said.

The DRCC saw a 20% increase in cases where it accompanied victims to sexual assault treatment units in 2006. The levels of violence are growing and victims’ accounts are getting more harrowing.

“I have no doubt about it. It is having an effect and you can see the influence it is having all the time. We have counsellors who have been with us years and they are hearing things they have never heard before. It is becoming more difficult for the workers to be hearing what is going on, it is becoming so violent and you can see where pornography is coming in.”

The conference organised in Limerick is widely regarded as the event to kick-start the violence against women sector into action. The rape crisis centres are leaning behind the Freedom from Pornography Campaign in an attempt to outlaw the availability of extreme material.

However, they said it is an uphill battle given the growing normalisation of the sex industry.