NATIONAL REVIEW — The Porn Industry and Human Trafficking Reinforce Each Other — Demand for the former feeds the latter. It should stop.
Every time we purchase clothing from a major retailer, we risk supplying a demand for an industry that runs a sweatshop in a distant, third-world country. Many consumers boycotted the industry by wielding the power of their pocket to encourage all fashion retailers to improve conditions for their workers, and they did — more than 200 fashion brands signed on to a legally binding agreement that sought to promote safer garment-industry conditions.
The analogy between the garment industry controversy and the porn industry ends here: There is no way to institute ethical consumption of porn without eliminating the demand. According to many survivors of sex trafficking, there is often no way to know whether a girl in a pornographic video is appearing on camera under coercive, nonconsensual, or threatening circumstances. Viewers can’t know whether they are viewing a child or whether the “performer” is being raped on camera.