March 16, 2010

EIE Highlights New Report as Wake-Up Call to Parents
 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2010
10:00am, EST




News Release


CONTACT: Cris Clapp Logan

                            (703) 476-7890 (office)

(703) 595-3986 (cell)

                 crisclapp@enough.org

EIE HIGHLIGHTS NEW REPORT AS A WAKE-UP CALL TO PARENTS

Internet P*rnography has infected modern childhood and damages lives

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Enough Is Enough® (EIE), a non-profit organization dedicated to keeping children safe online, commends the Witherspoon Institute on the release of its new study, The Social Costs of Pornography: A Statement of Findings and Recommendations.


"Any child with unrestricted Internet access is just one click away from accidentally or intentionally viewing an abundance of free material, from soft-core pornography to prosecutable material depicting live sex shows, orgies, bestiality, violence and child sexual abuse," commented EIE President and former Child Online Protection Act (COPA) Commissioner, Donna Rice Hughes.  "For the past fifteen years, Internet pornography has invaded our homes and pornifed our culture. This important report serves as a wake-up call to parents and caring adults that no child or adult is immune to its damaging impact." 

The Witherspoon Institute report is the first multidisciplinary scholarly exploration in the Internet age to chronicle the undeniable evidence derived from social and neuro-science of the harmful impact and social costs of pornography, especially Internet pornography. The report found that Internet pornography is qualitatively and quantitatively different from any of the content that has come before. Research and data included in the report found that the use of Internet pornography can have a range of damaging effects on human beings of all ages and of both sexes, affecting their happiness, their health, their productivity, their relationships with one another and their functioning in society, with an especially devastating impact on children and women.

"Pornography is the drug of the millennium and poses a real and present danger to the mental, emotional and physical health and safety of our children," Rice Hughes said.  "After having sacrificed an entire generation to the destructive impact of hard-core pornography, it's time we all collectively say, Enough Is Enough®!"

In response to the need to protect children from Internet dangers, EIE's developed the Internet Safety 101® program to educate, equip and empower parents, educators and other caring adults to protect children online. The four-part DVD teaching series, accompanying workbook, and Web site - www.internetsafety101.org - addresses threats including pornography, sexual predators, cyberbullies. The high-definition video series includes poignant true stories from young children and teen victims of Internet pornography as well as critical advice and safety information from a variety of experts in the field of law enforcement, technology and psychology about how to keep kids safe in a pornified world. 

"It is unprecedented in modern life for parents to shoulder the entire burden of protecting their children from prosecutable and illegal pornography. EIE's Internet Safety 101® program serves as a critical resource to equip them with the knowledge and resources they need to effectively protect their innocence, " added Dr. Jill Manning, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who served as a featured expert in the 101 video series. Dr. Manning's work was cited heavily in the Witherspoon report.

The Pornography 101 videos from the series were launched today on YouTube.

About Enough Is Enough®: Enough Is Enough® (EIE), a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, emerged in 1994 as the national leader on the front lines to make the Internet safer for children and families. Since then, EIE has continued to pioneer efforts to confront online pornography, child pornography, child stalking and sexual predation and other online threats to children by promoting a three-pronged, preventative approach to create and sustain a safe and rewarding Internet environment through educating the public, working with the Internet industry and promoting legal solutions to better protect children online.

 

About The Witherspoon Institute:  The Witherspoon Institute is an independent research center that works to enhance public understanding of the moral foundations of free and democratic societies. Located in Princeton, New Jersey, the Institute promotes the application of fundamental principles of republican government and ordered liberty to contemporary problems. In light of this purpose, the Institute has a special interest in higher education and the formation of the next generation of scholars. You can read more about the report at www.socialcostsofpornography.org.

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