THE VICES OF ADULT...
Should pornographic content be banned?
During the final months of 2010 the Sri Lankan government banned approximately 400 local and international porn sites. These sites were referred to the Juvenile Courts and thereafter assistance was obtained from the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC), to ensure the public could not access sites that were seen as morally corrupt.
They took steps to ban all porn websites and adopt mechanisms to block them in an effort to curtail the country's children and youth accessing those web sites through mobile phones, internet cafés and household internet connections.
According to the police even children under the age of 18 have been found using these websites to view pornographic pictures and scenes. It has been found that in more than 160 of these websites Sri Lankan youth have posed for pornographic pictures and videos.
The authorities took these steps following a police report that children and adolescents have become addicted to such sites. It first took steps to ban 107 porn sites. The court moved to ban these websites reportedly featuring local men and women in sexual acts or positions, following a report filed by the Women and Children’s Bureau of the police.
The government in 2009 proposed a ban on all movies labelled 'Adults only' and recommended tougher monitoring and regulation of television programmes and publications that include content of an adult nature.
In 2009 the TRC blocked 12 sites with adult content. The government also wanted advertisers to get the approval of the Public Performance Board for advertisements on TV, radio and newspapers, to ensure they did not carry sexually suggestive or explicit content. The government said such a decision was taken to stop advertisements created without any standards that are morally un- healthy for society, especially for small children.
According to statistics provided by the TRC they had banned the usage of 345 porn sites around the world and 180 Sri Lankan porn websites. However, the police say that people are crafty in using proxy websites to access these banned sites.
More than 400 such websites were submitted to the Juvenile Courts but the police said a total of 107 such sites could be accessed and downloaded on mobile phones.
Names of actors and actresses who took part in pornographic movie productions were publicized in the local media and identified with their pictures—this move was made on the request of the police. This measure was carried out in order to ensure that the public were aware of the individuals involved in local x-rated movies.
The increase in cases of rape and sexual abuse has also been attributed to the increase in pornographic content, as it displays women as sexual objects. Last year alone 1700 rape cases were reported in the country. During investigations the suspects who were arrested were under the age of 23 and admitted to having being influenced to commit these crimes after watching pornographic material. These men had preyed on young women or older women who were living by themselves.
Under the Obscene Publications Ordinance of 1983, anyone involved in distributing, exhibiting or advertising obscene material will be fined Rs.10,000 and face three months imprisonment.
Improving the legal system to counter ‘pornographic internet crimes’ is very important at this juncture and if laws are strong people will, at the very least, hesitate before engaging in these activities.
The status of women in society
has declined because of pornography as it portrays women as sexual objects and international pornographic sites tend to portray children as sexual objects as well.
The government should keep in mind that the blocking of all pornographic websites and ensuring that the public has no access to these sites is firstly, impossible and secondly this action could backfire.
It is impossible to ban all porn sites because these websites continue to be created.
Even developed nations would find difficulty in banning porn websites. A considerable amount of prior study encompassing technical, academic and regulatory aspects must be performed before implementing such a ban.
Therefore the police have been constantly dealing with the authorities in the justice system and also with the TRC to find a way to ban porn sites which have been corrupting the minds of the public and especially that of children and young adults.
Have we elected a “moral police”?
Pornography typically for the South East Asian community is a vice and this is moreso the case for Sri Lanka. Pornography incites a louder cry than alcohol, from the “moral police” of society. Despite this the contradiction lies in the lines found outside a tavern every evening. Similarly Porn is considered a vice among all civilized nations, yet these sites continue to be viewed and created. The main accusation against porn ranges from the fact that pornography treats a woman as a sexual object, to the moral corruption it causes in the minds of the observer.
The accusations that have stood strong are that pornography is a major form of corruption of children. The child who is unaware of sexual inhibitions, when suddenly thrown into the pool of pornography that is so abundantly available, will as proposed in many instances to view sex in the light of pornography. Because that is his or her first experience of sexual acts. Therefore laws preventing children from viewing pornography although unrealistic, in most instances with the development in technology, is considered vital. However, the main cause for concern is the fact that the authorities seem to have taken on the duty of being the ‘moral police’ of its citizens by banning all porn sites. Despite this ban not being effective due to many proxies that are available, it draws upon many questions. Does the government have the right to infringe upon the lives of private individuals? Are the elected representatives of the people placed on a higher moral plain that its citizens in so far as to decide what is morally acceptable, for them? The questions come about as a result of the fact that the banning of porn sites is not only enforced against children; but also against all consenting adults, who are capable of deciding for themselves, the pros and cons of pornography.
In many countries that do not fall within the ambit of dictatorial or extremist regimes, education against the use of pornography is the preferred mode of deterrence. The websites have a warning, although no real purpose is served against children under the age of 18 viewing pornography. Seldom does the government get directly involved in the private lives of its subjects especially when the subjects are considered to possess enough intelligence to elect their rulers.
Many studies conducted by reputed universities and research agencies around the world have time and again shown that, sexual repression is one of the main causes for crime both sexual and otherwise. The pent up sexual frustration is let out through various means by human beings of all strata. What has to be understood is that sex is a basic human need, and in a society which values a woman to behave within certain parameters, the only release, as viewed by some, is the viewing of pornography.
In a paper published in ‘The International Journal of Law and Psychiatry (2009)’, Milton Diamond reviewed a very broad number of studies that have explored the supposed ill effects of pornography. Subsequent to his extensive review, Dia- mond concludes; “Indeed, the data reported and reviewed suggests that the thesis is myth and, if anything, there is an inverse causal relationship between an increase in pornography and sex crimes. Further, considering the findings of studies of community standards and wide spread usage of SEM (sexually explicit material), it is obvious that in local communities as nationally and inter nationally, porn is available, widely used and felt appropriate for voluntary adult consumption. If there is a consensus against pornography it is in regard to any SEM that involves children or minors in its production or consumption. Lastly we see that objections to erotic materials are often made on the basis of supposed actual, social or moral harm to women. No such cause and effect has been demonstrated with any negative consequence."
This in no way promotes pornography as a medium of engagement. Rather it is an effort to shed light on realistic views regarding the nature of the vice. The main crux of which should be; do the elected representatives of the people have a right to infringe upon the private lives of its subjects? On one hand they do have the justifiable reasoning as to the corruption of children through pornography, but does this duty not fall within that of parent’s duties? Does banning of pornographic sites do more harm than good in the long run? These are questions that need constructive discussion devoid of moral policing.