90 percent of the pornographic videos hosted by the four most visited sites in France - Pornhub, HVideos, Xnxx and Xhamster - feature real acts of physical, sexual or verbal violence against women. This is one of the conclusions of a report presented last week by the French High Council for Equality between Women and Men, after more than a year and a half's work.
As Statista's Anna Fleck details below, the report paints a dark picture of the pornographic industry: the study estimates that over 1.4 million videos contain sadistic practices or acts of sexist or sexual violence, and 1.5 million contain racist categories.
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The report writers also cite instances of the authorities' inaction in the face of ‘pornocriminality’, referencing how the researchers’ reporting of 35 videos to Pharos, the government platform designed to combat illegal content and behavior online, produced no results: none of the reports were acted upon, despite the extreme violence of the acts presented in these videos, some of which meet the legal definition of acts of torture and barbarism. In addition, the High Council for Equality between Women and Men points out a troubling observation: 51 percent of boys aged 12-13 are said to consume pornography every month.
The HCE has issued a series of recommendations on how the law can be changed to better combat pornographic violence, sexual exploitation and the distribution of illegal pornographic content. The report also calls for more education to prevent the normalization of these acts of violence.
