We oppose the government’s decision to make the possession of so-called “violent porn” an offence. We do not oppose it because we like images that degrade women. Or because we are uncritical of violent imagery of all kinds (although not all depictions of violent sexual acts are also depictions of non-consensual acts — sado-masochistic sex for instance).
Nor do we oppose this law because we are indifferent to the safety of the people involved in pornography production. Those people should have the protection of the law against injury and coercion. Sex work is very dangerous — although it is worth noting that the adult pornographic film industry, is the least dangerous area of sex work. We support sex workers organising to improve the conditions of their work.
We oppose this law because it is based on the non-objective and non-proven assumption that violent porn leads to violence again women. The majority of serious studies show a no causal linke or are inconclusive. Violent people tend to be violent because of their background and the conditions of their life.
We oppose this proposed law because it is a knee-jerk reaction to the case of a single victim and because it could be the start of other attacks on other material depicting consensual adult sex. And that would be reactionary. It is an attack on freedom of speech.