In 2002, fourteen year old Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her bedroom at knife point by a bearded man. He tied her up, hid her from her family and the police, and raped her for nine months until she was rescued.
One of the most recognizable child abductees in the country, Ms. Smart is now an advocate against child abduction and sexual abuse. She sat down with Fight the New Drug last week to add her voice to the movement against pornography and describe the role pornography played in her abuse.
Pornography acted as a stimulus to her captor, Smart said. He would stare at the images for hours, commenting on the women. Then, he would rape her, attempting to mimic the pornographic scenes. She stated:
“I can’t say that he would not have gone out and kidnapped me had he not looked at pornography. All I know is that pornography made my living hell worse.”
You can watch the full video on Fight the New Drug’s website by clicking here.
Smart is not the first person to link pornography and sexual assault. Several prominent rapists and serial killers including Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Arthur Gary Bishop, and Andrei Chikatilo indicated that pornography fueled their violent impulses and played a significant part in their “routine.” A recent study published in the Journal of Communications also found that those who viewed pornography were more likely to commit acts of verbal and physical acts of sexual aggression.
Not everyone that views pornography once, twice, or even repeatedly will commit physical or sexual assault. Pornography does not work that way. But what hardcore pornography DOES do is nurture the very worst impulses inside each one of us. Pornography plants ideas in our brains about ourselves, our loved ones, and our dreams. It erodes compassion and silences selflessness.
” A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other.
One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery and love. The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred and fear.
The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, ‘Grandfather, which one wins?’
The grandfather quietly replies, ‘The one you feed.'” (Source: The One You Feed official website)
Stand against pornography, and stand for strengthening the best within each one of us.