Saving youths from the addiction of pornography

 

In this age of free flow of information, internet facility is at hand today. This availability of the internet has made people's daily lives more comfortable but has brought a terrible danger for the young society called pornography. Bangladesh's Pornography Control Act defines pornography as sexually explicit gestures, nude or half-naked dance-movies, video images, audio-visual images, still images, illustrated images, or any other material that has no artistic value - will be considered pornography. In addition, pornographic books, magazines, sculptures, statues, cartoons, or pamphlets that cause sexual arousal will be considered pornography. Negative or soft versions of these will also be considered as pornography.

Pornography addiction is a proposed psychological model of addiction that defines a person's inexorable sexual activity driven by the use of pornography-related goods, despite the negative physical, emotional, social, or financial consequences. Evidence-based feedback testing has shown evidence of cybersex's progressive attraction-enhancing properties. Addicts can suffer from a variety of difficulties, including financial crises due to depression, social isolation, job loss, unemployment, or the ill effects of pornography on their social life.

There is no universally accepted standard for diagnosing pornography addiction or viewing problematic pornography as a disease. There has been heated debate over the validity of diagnosing pornography as a mental illness. Some physicians and organizations use the Internet Convenient sample population in most successful studies. One such study, using a convenient sample of 9,265 people, found that 1% of Internet users were addicted to cybersex and 17% of users passed the criteria for diagnosing problematic sexual addiction. That means they score one point more than the average deviation from the average standard on the sex addiction scale. A survey of 84 college students found that 20-60% of those who use pornography find it problematic.

Internet pornography users belong to the internet users and it has been found that the use of internet pornography is the only activity that in most cases leads the user to immoral behavior. This includes spending too much time watching pornography instead of communicating with others. Individuals exposed to excessive pornography may experience deteriorating social life, social isolation, loss of professional life, low productivity, or economic problems and suffers from a lack of confidence compared to the sexual power of pornstars.

Two psychotherapists at Eastwind Health Associates in Halifax say from their medical experience that adults tend to experience emotional separation from their partners because of excessive pornography viewing, even if those individuals desire emotional intimacy. The report says it is not clear whether pornography is the chicken or the egg of that so-called proverb. Does a person lean towards the fact that he is not satisfied with his relationship? Or do women find themselves losing interest in sex when they discover that their partners having a good time with their fellow adult movie stars?

It is completely illegal to produce or view or process pornographic material in Bangladesh. A 2009 report found that the rate of child pornography in Bangladesh has increased. A 2013 study found that pornography worth about Tk. 30 million is downloaded from cyber cafes in Dhaka every month. It is also seen that 77 percent of the people addicted to pornography are very young. In 2015, the High Court of Bangladesh asked the government to stop spreading obscene material on social media. In 2016, Bangladesh government minister Tarana Halim announced plans to shut down pornographic websites.

Mustafa Jabbar, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology of the Eleventh Parliament of Bangladesh, blocked access to about 20,000 pornographic websites from Bangladesh from November 2018 to February 2019. In addition, the government has promised to block the sending of pornographic site addresses or links to e-mail [email protected] with shortcode number 2872 of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Pornography has been identified as a crime under the Pornography Control Act 2012. Under the current law, the maximum penalty is 10 years imprisonment and/or a fine of Tk. five lakh.

The Pornography Control Act 2012 prohibits the carrying, exchange, use, sale, etc. of pornography in Bangladesh. The law was first approved by the Council of Ministers in the form of a bill. The bill was introduced by Home Minister Sahara Khatun on January 29 during the 1st session of the Ninth Parliament. The bill was sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs for scrutiny. The Pornography Control Act 2012 was approved on 28 February 2012. Pornography production, storage, marketing, transportation, supply, purchase, and sale are illegal and prohibited under this Act. Various provisions of punishment have been laid down for carrying out these prohibited acts.

The Pornography Control Act stipulates that a person who, knowingly or unknowingly, seduces a woman, a man, or a child for the purpose of producing pornography, captures video or film can be sentenced to a maximum of 7 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh. The bill also stipulates that if a person defames or blackmails someone through pornography or attempts to do so, the judge can impose a term of imprisonment of 2 to 5 years and, in addition, a fine of Rs 1 to 2 lakh. The maximum penalty for producing and distributing child pornography is 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk 5 lakh.

According to the Pornography Control Act 2012, a person accused of making a porno CD or DVD can be arrested without an arrest warrant and his dormitory can be searched. Software, Converted Hardcopy, CD, VCD, DVD, Computer or any other digital or electrical device, Accessories, SIMs on mobile phones, Parts, any other device or parts, equipment or bag used in criminal activities to be presented as evidence or exhibition in court. Section 5 of the law stipulates that if a pornography allegation is found, it must be investigated by a police sub-inspector or an officer of the same rank within 30 days. If the investigation is required, the investigation can be extended for another 15 days with the permission of the senior officers and with the approval of the court for another 30 days.

If it is not possible to arrest the accused within 7 days of the issuance of the arrest warrant under this Act, the court may order the accused to appear before the court by placing an advertisement in a national daily newspaper. If the accused does not surrender to the court within this period, the trial will be completed in his absence. If someone is found guilty of this crime, he can appeal against it within 30 days. In addition, the bill also provides punishment for those who make false allegations. The state and the courts can take cognizance of the offenses committed under this Act as cognizable and non-bailable offenses without any charges.



The writer is a columnist.
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