Hooked on porn

25 November 2013 - 02:35 By POPPY LOUW
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Addiction to pornography is on a steady increase in South Africa, with children as young as 15 seeking professional help and addicts spending millions to feed their shameful habits.

Therapists and counsellors dealing with addictions are concerned that should it be left untreated, porn addiction could lead individuals to cause harm to themselves and others.

Compiling accurate information about porn addiction, according to experts, is a “daunting task”  — there are no exact statistics on porn addiction in South Africa— but several addiction and sex therapists have noted worrying increases in the number of those hooked to porn.

Counsellors at Changes Treatment Centre in Johannesburg have registered an approximate annual increase of between 10% to 30% in people presenting symptoms of porn addiction.

The centre, however, receives more enquiries — approximately between 25 and 40 —from people not arriving for treatment per year.

A global 2013 report by Internet accountability and filtering site, CovenantEyes, reveals that nearly two billion searches for pornography have been registered since the beginning of this year.  

It has further determined that nine out of 10 Internet porn users only access free material – samples or copied versions of pay material – or amateur material.

Addictions consultant Sheryl Rahme attributed the increase and progression towards porn addiction to “many factors”, especially access and availability to material.

Rahme – who has treated clients ranging between the ages of 15 and 68 – said the addiction often starts with experimentation at a young age.

“A majority of times, there was early exposure to porn, sex or crossing of sexual boundaries.

“It is a ‘disease of shame’ and though not every abused child will develop an addiction to pornography or sex, abuse is present in all who present the addictions to us.”

The constant urge to click once more on explicit images and video saw a 36-year-old man spend R1.25 million on prostitutes, while a 33-year-old woman resorted to ordering secret credit cards as a way of hiding the expense from her partner. The woman lost her job after being caught out.

Just last month,  Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel was forced to appoint a new acting competition commissioner last month following the resignation acting competition commissioner Shan Ramburuth resigned after an investigation was launched into his fitness to hold office.

This was after the Sunday Times exposed how he had spent an average of R15 000 an hour on a government SIM card visiting porn sites and downloading porn videos.

Family Policy Institute (FPI) director Errol Naidoo believes that due to its easy access and availability, pornography poses a “significant” risk to men, women and children in society — ultimately leading to sexual crimes in the country.

“Children are increasingly being exposed to hard-core porn on the internet via their smart phones,” Naidoo said.

“Children as young as 10 are now involved in rape.”

Statistics by CovenantEyes reveal that 68% of young men and 18% of women surveyed used porn at least once every week, with the rest using it more than once.

It is also becoming more common for young adults to make their own pornography, with nearly one in five young adults sending sexts (sexually explicit test message).

Pastor and sex addiction therapist Theo Kriek said one of the difficulties in treating sexual addiction was that it has not yet been classified as a psychological disorder.

“Sexual development is part of the human body’s own development,” said Kriek.

“Unlike substance abuse, where the body consumes drugs or alcohol, it becomes difficult to convince the mind to differentiate between what is healthy sexual desire and what is not.”

This was the experience of a 36-year-old IT expert from Gauteng, who ultimately spent R1.25 million on prostitutes over a period of six to eight years – on top of his cocaine addiction.

“Porn gives me an instant euphoric rush. It is so easy to access and gave me a way of escaping reality. With porn, my mind could imagine anything.”

The biophysical changes and reactions, in which endorphins and dopamine are released, during the beginning stages of experimenting, have led to addiction for many.

Said Rahme: “The type of material they first view is the one they will seek out going forward, but with more intensity and more darkness".

A typical addict, Rahme said, starts off with the type of porn that “works” for them, while some watch anything.

“But as it progresses, it goes darker, more riskier and often very destructive.”

A 33-year-old woman from Johannesburg, who asked not to be named, is still seeking the thrill she first had when she discovered her uncle’s porn stash at the age of 11.

Her addiction – which saw her order secret cards – resulted in her losing her family, her relationship of 11 years and job as a structural engineering technician at an engineering firm.

This was after being caught and reported to management, initially by a colleague – and by her own secretary a year later.

“It started with an hour in the afternoon, then an hour at home after my partner had gone to bed,” she said.

“I was visiting sites and staying for hours. Web cams were showing things that had me dazed.”

Losing her loved ones and all she worked for is not enough for the woman who believes she “will stop soon, but just have not seen enough yet”.

Naidoo believes there is no legislation in place to monitor and regulate the widespread access and distribution of pornography in South Africa.

“The broadcast of porn on free-to-air TV is also a major problem. ICASA granted Top TV a license to broadcast three hard-core porn channels in SA, despite rampant sexual crimes against women and children.”

An unemployed 24-year-old male addict – who got hooked to porn after his two older cousins showed him material 12 years ago – believes awareness was needed in spreading the dangers of pornography.

“It is not a glamorous industry. The addiction leads to a great lack of self-respect and dignity. One cannot learn healthy sex from porn or how to have a healthy sex life.”

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