Online porn turns men into monsters...and one of them killed my sister
A WOMAN who became an anti-pornography campaigner after her sister was murdered by a sexual predator has warned that online filth “teaches boys that violence is sexy”.
Gemma Aitchison insists there is a “direct link” between the boom in hardcore online porn and the surge in attacks on women.
The 35-year-old began her crusade after her sister Sasha Marsden, 16, was stabbed to death by twisted barman David Minto.
She said porn culture turns men into potential monsters by convincing them aggression and violence are part of normal sexual behaviour.
Gemma, who set up Yes Matters to tackle the causes of sexual violence and support victims, spoke out amid growing concern over explicit web images. The Daily Express revealed last week that at least 20 women have been killed by men addicted to porn in the two decades since it began to take off.
Lured
Victims include Sarah Everard, the 33-year-old marketing executive murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, and student Libby Squire, 21, killed by a sex pest.
The all-party parliamentary group on commercial sexual exploitation is currently investigating whether porn fuels attacks on women.
Gemma, a mother of one from Bolton, said: “There’s a direct link – they can’t be separated.
“I’m not taking away responsibility from the men who commit these offences.
“We are teaching boys that violence is sexy. Pornography says ‘this is sexy, this is what you are supposed to do’.”
Campaigners say porn platforms are loaded with videos featuring simulations of rough or forced sex and strangulation. Gemma said: “People who appear in pornography, act as if it isn’t painful whether it is or not.
“Boys then think ‘I’ll do that because that’s what she’ll like’ – then they go and copy it. “Pornography has a much wider reach than television, yet there’s no regulation at all.”
Sasha was lured to her death when she went looking for a job to a Blackpool hotel where Minto, 23, worked. He sexually assaulted the teenager and stabbed her 58 times before setting her body on fire and dumping it in an alley. Minto was jailed for a minimum of 35 years after being found guilty of murder at Preston Crown Court in 2013. Although porn was not mentioned in his trial, Gemma said the case made her realise he saw Sasha as an object for his sexual gratification. She said: “He referred to her as ‘that’ and ‘it’ and I realised I had male friends who would refer to women by saying, ‘check that out or check it out’. I wanted to know what it was that they had in common.
“It’s gender stereotyping and sexual objectification. They don’t think they’re doing anything wrong because they think they’re entitled to do that.”
Gemma, who runs projects to teach young people respect in relationships and has advised Government departments, wants MPs to tighten regulation of porn. She said: “The work I do doesn’t help Sasha.
“I think about her everyday, it’s a wound that doesn’t heal.
“It doesn’t help Sarah Everard. When that happened, I was just angry the same situation had happened again. Obviously, I can’t save the girl that I wanted to save and there’s nothing I can do about that. But I can get young people to realise the world is going to be theirs soon, so maybe they can make it better.”