Viewing violent sexual acts in the media leads many individuals to engage in sexual violence. The display of sexually violent material leads to a social climate where violence against women becomes more accepted (Seabrook et al., 2019). This increases the possibility of sexual violence since the availability of sexual material creates a specific image in individuals and triggers them to engage in sexual violence. Additionally, social media has played a huge role in victim blaming in acts related to violent sexual acts (Rodenhizer & Edwards, 2019). Women who have been violated sexually have been blamed for causing harm to themselves. Such a perception increases the rate at which people engage in sexual violence in different communities.
According to World Health Organization (2019), sexual coercion refers to activities that pressure, trick, threaten or even force an individual to participate in sexual activity. The media has contributed to sexual coercion by objectifying women sexually. This is done by most media personalities, actors, or other players being shown to be ready sexually and also possess physical beauty. These attributes show them as sexual objects and decorative entities. This image creates an environment that encourages sexual coercion.
The viewing of violence or atypical sexual acts in pornography impacts the happening of sexual violence. Pornography has been a major contributor to dating violence and also sexual aggression. This kind of violence happens across all ages, and the cases increase daily. In the U.S, approximately 11% of adolescents have experienced sexual teen dating violence which has been attributed to the viewing of violence or atypical sexual acts in pornography, among other factors (Rostad et al., 2019). This has been enabled by the proliferation of the internet. Different forms of media have also created wide access to the viewing of sexually explicit material for different people, especially those that can access different media sites. In general, there is a strong association between being prone to watching violence on social media or porn and acting violently in real life.
References
Rodenhizer, K. A. E., & Edwards, K. M. (2019). The impacts of sexual media exposure on adolescent and emerging adults’ dating and sexual violence attitudes and behaviors: A critical review of the literature. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 20(4), 439-452. Web.
Rostad, W. L., Gittins-Stone, D., Huntington, C., Rizzo, C. J., Pearlman, D., & Orchowski, L. (2019). The association between exposure to violent pornography and teen dating violence in grade 10 high school students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48(7), 2137. Web.
Seabrook, R. C., Ward, L. M., & Giaccardi, S. (2019). Less than human? Media use, objectification of women, and men’s acceptance of sexual aggression. Psychology of Violence, 9(5), 536. Web.
World Health Organization. (2019). Violence against women: Intimate partner and sexual violence against women: evidence brief (No. WHO/RHR/19.16). World Health Organization.