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Organized by the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene Guild, in collaboration with Gonzaga University, the conference drew leading experts from throughout the country for a day-long examination of the consequences of pornography on our brains; its impact on intimate relationships and raising children in a pornified culture; and its influence on culture, leading to an increase in child sexual abuse, increased sexual violence against women and human sex trafficking. The latter part of the afternoon was devoted to effective therapies. The conference was attended by college students and people from all backgrounds. Bishop Daly supported and attended the conference. All attendees received a book produced by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) detailing the published, peer-reviewed data that support the premise that pornography is a public health crisis.
The conference began with Dr. Donald Hilton, a neurosurgeon from San Antonio, Texas, who discussed the effects of porn on the developing brain. Dr. Hilton explained that learning and behavior can in fact change brain structure and that addictive behaviors — such as to food, sex, the internet and pornography — have been shown in virtually every study to show shrinkage and abnormality in the reward (nucleus accumbens) and judgment (prefrontal cortex) centers. MRI data from the Max Plank Institute in Germany document these changes, along with impairment in connectivity with the frontal cortex areas of judgment and control.
Gail Dines, Ph.D. and professor emerita of sociology and women’s studies at Wheelock College in Boston, Mass., spoke next. Professor Dines, author of Pornland: How Porn has Hijacked Our Sexuality and president and CEO of Culture Reframed, has studied the effects of porn for nearly 30 years. She impressed on the audience that mainstream porn, which comes up within seconds in a Google search, is cruel, abusive, violent and free. She explained that the average age of first exposure to porn is 11, and that the child will be “catapulted into a world of sexual cruelty and brutality, where women are subject to body-punishing sex and called vile names.” Never before have we raised a generation of boys on hardcore porn. The consequences for our culture are that boys grow to be men who view women as disposable objects and themselves as predators, while women come to see their roles as victims, as dictated by the porn/entertainment industry. Dr. Dines stressed that this will significantly shape the adolescent sexual arousal template. She gave a second lecture on the direct link between human sex trafficking and pornography. She emphasized that we will never be rid of sex trafficking unless we eliminate pornography. Resources for parents can be found through her organization at www.culturereframed.org
The topic of sex trafficking was continued by Patrick Trueman, president and CEO of NCOSE. Trueman previously headed the child exploitation and obscenity section in the U.S. Department of Justice. He explained that pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking are one and the same. More than 80 percent of women in the sex industry are under a pimp’s control, the definition of sex trafficking. Furthermore, pornography meets the legal definition of trafficking if the pornographer “recruits, entices or obtains women for the purpose of photographing live commercial sex acts.” NCOSE targets companies that promote pornography in their “Dirty Dozen” list. The Hilton Corporation, for example, has stopped providing porn in all of its hotel rooms under pressure from NCOSE. The discussion of sex trafficking then focused on our community in Spokane.
Speakers included Aaron Tilbury, who founded the Jonah Project, an organization that rescues and houses women and children trafficked in our community.
Clay Olsen, from Salt Lake City and founder of Fight the New Drug, a youth movement dedicated to raising awareness of sexual exploitation, spoke frankly to the youths in the audience about relationships. Olsen presented real-life examples through vignettes about young people enslaved by pornography, the devastation to their loved ones and families and the tough road in extricating themselves from the “new drug.” Olsen’s site ghtthenewdrug.org also has many useful resources.
The remainder of the afternoon was devoted to exploring therapeutic solutions. Stefanie Carnes, Ph.D., president of the International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals (IITAP) and author of Mending a Shattered Heart: A Guide for Partners of Sex Addicts, lectured on compulsive and addictive sexual behavior. The distinction between addictive and compulsive behavior, their diagnosis and the implications for treatment were discussed. She then led a panel discussion with five local licensed mental health counselors and certified sexual addiction therapists on a variety of questions from the audience. Many questions concerned personal struggles with porn addiction. The panel ended with assurances that recovery and sexual health are possible.
The conference was videotaped. The Catholic Medical Association Guild will upload it to the CMA YouTube page in the near future.