03.10.11

A Symposium, "Pornography and Sexual Violence and Harm" was Held in Fukushima

　

　On October 11th, a symposium: "Pornography and Sexual Violence and Harm: To Stop Harms to Women and Children" was held by Media Equal and our group in Koriyama city, Fukushima.

　At the symposium, six members of the APP, basing on the results of "Questionnaire about Harms of Pornography," which we carried out last year, raised such issues as the importance of the concept of "harms of pornography," the reality of them in Japan, and what people can do about it. After that we made the discussion with the participants. Around 40 people attended, and among them were more than ten men. There were college students, municipal employees, city councils, employees of prefectural child welfare facility, and members of "Men's Lib Fukushima."

　The seven reports we made were entitled "What is the Harm of Pornography?" "Summary of the Results of the Questionnaire," "Harms of Pornography Done to Women and Children at Home," "Harms of Video Peeping and Porn Collage," "Harms during the Production of Pornography," "Sexual Crimes Caused by Pornography Consumption," and "What We Can and Should Do." Although the participants were surprised to know the actual conditions of sexual harms done during the production and consumption of pornography, they seemed to be convinced of the points. They really recognized the fact that "If pornography is fantasy for men, it is reality of forced sex for women".

　At questions and answers time, the participants raised the questions about "pose workshop", the Antipornography Ordinance in the US, and the economic interests for which pornography are made. Some suggestions by advocates of the victims of sexual crimes were also raised, such as "we need to punish more severely criminals who produce pornography, because legal settlements are not enough for victims and they need more comprehensive supports" and "it is important to educate and empower children to be critical of pornography."

　After the symposium, we had dinner with the members of Media Equal who worked to prepare the symposium. We would like to express our gratitude here to the member of Media Equal.