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Pornography Featuring Aggression - Pleasurable or Problematic?

Hellberg, Anna LU (2023) LAGM01 20231
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Popular Abstract
Research shows that pornography holds great influential power in relation to the sexual desires and preferences of its consumers, and that it greatly affects how people view sex and intimacy. When pornography displays acts of sexual violence, acts of aggressions, this influential power constitutes a cause for concern. It has been shown that consumption of pornography featuring aggression contributes to sexual violence, and as most such pornography depicts men wielding sexual violence against a female counterpart, it is mainly sexual violence towards women which is incited. In other words, there is a causal connection between consumption of pornography featuring aggression and perpetrated acts of sexual violence against women.

In this... (More)
Research shows that pornography holds great influential power in relation to the sexual desires and preferences of its consumers, and that it greatly affects how people view sex and intimacy. When pornography displays acts of sexual violence, acts of aggressions, this influential power constitutes a cause for concern. It has been shown that consumption of pornography featuring aggression contributes to sexual violence, and as most such pornography depicts men wielding sexual violence against a female counterpart, it is mainly sexual violence towards women which is incited. In other words, there is a causal connection between consumption of pornography featuring aggression and perpetrated acts of sexual violence against women.

In this thesis, I have investigated what this connection entails in relation to international human rights law as set out by the European Convention on Human Rights, ECHR, and whether states have any obligations or possibilities to restrict pornography featuring aggression under the ECHR due to its negative effects. After discussing what pornography is and what constitutes an act of aggression in the context of pornography, I have analysed pornography featuring aggression in relation to Article 3 and Article 10 of the ECHR. Article 3 of the ECHR states the absolute prohibition of torture and inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment, which embeds a right for women, as well as for everyone else, to live free from sexual violence. By examining case law from the European Court of Human Rights, ECtHR, I have analysed what obligations said Article brings upon states, and whether they can be interpreted into requiring states to restrict pornography featuring aggression due to its effects on women’s human rights. Whilst both relevant obligations under Article 3 of the ECHR, namely the obligation to
enact legislative or regulatory frameworks and the obligation to sometimes take
protective operational measures, impose obligations upon states in relation to sexual violence, none of them can be convincingly interpreted into requiring states to restrict pornography featuring aggression.

Article 10 of the ECHR states the right to freedom of expression, under which
pornography, including pornography featuring aggression, is protected. The protection offered by Article 10 of the ECHR is not, however, absolute. The Article expressively allows for restrictions, if the restriction in question is prescribed by law, pursues a legitimate aim, and is necessary in a democratic society. Thus, there is a possibility to restrict pornography featuring aggression under Article 10 of the ECHR, if said requirements are met. Whilst it is recognized that there might be certain difficulties, mainly definitional difficulties, in meeting these requirements in relation to a restriction of pornography featuring aggression, it is argued that it in no way is an impossibility. This means that whilst a restriction of pornography featuring aggression is, as of right now, hypothetical, it seems likely that such a restriction could meet the requirements held by Article 10 of the ECHR, and thus be allowed.

The conclusion reached in this thesis is, thus, that whilst there is no obligation under Article 3 of the ECHR to restrict pornography featuring aggression due to its negative effects on women's human rights, there is seemingly a possibility to do so under Article 10 of the ECHR. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Hellberg, Anna LU
supervisor
organization
course
LAGM01 20231
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
9119556
date added to LUP
2023-06-07 15:37:45
date last changed
2023-06-07 15:37:45
@misc{9119556,
  author       = {{Hellberg, Anna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Pornography Featuring Aggression - Pleasurable or Problematic?}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}