Internet Pornography

Lawyer Dr James McConvill asserts in the NZ Herald that not only is Internet pornography not a bad thing, but that it has in fact benefited society and led to fewer sexual assaults. He calls for removal of content ratings on such material and indeed for internet pornography to be freely available not only in homes, but also in schools and public libraries.

Dr McConvill is certainly correct that in the US there appears to be a negative correlation between levels of Internet access and sexual attacks, on a state by state basis. However I would want to see a lot more studies done, and research on other reasons for the correlation before assuming a causative effect.

I am not sure if he is serious when he suggests free porn in schools and libraries. I wouldn’t quite say porn is something best done in someone’s home, but certainly not something I’d want kids getting NCEA credits for 🙂