The Effect of Easy Availability of Pornography on the Incidence of Sex Crimes: The Danish Experience
- 1 July 1973
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Social Issues
- Vol. 29 (3) , 163-181
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1973.tb00094.x
Abstract
The Danish liberalization of legal prosecution and of laws concerning pornography and the ensuing high availability of such materials present a unique opportunity of testing hypotheses concerning the relationship between pornography and sex offenses. It is shown that concurrently with the increasing availability of pornography there was a significant decrease in the number of sex offenses registered by the police in Copenhagen. On the basis of various investigations, including a survey of public attitudes and studies of the police, it was established that at least in one type of offense (child molestation) the decrease represents a real reduction in the number of offenses committed. Various factors suggest that the availability of pornography was the direct cause of this decrease.Keywords
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