Ted Bundy "There are those loose in their towns and communities, like me, whose dangerous impulses are being fueled, day in and day out, by violence in the media in its various forms- particularly sexualized violence." - Ted Bundy Read Ted Bundy Statistics College Women: 85% of rapes on campus are acquaintance rapes One in six female college students reported having been a victim of rape or attempted rape during the preceding year. Nearly all female teenage victims know their attacker. College Men: 84% of college men who committed rape said that what they did was definitely not rape. 90% of acquaintance rapes involve alcohol.

Aggression

An Ordinary Boy

Most 13 year old boys are curious and Ted was no exception. He and his friends would often wander the neighborhood seeking hidden treasures. Occasionally he would find something new or different. Such was the case one afternoon when he and his friends discovered a magazine full of pictures in a neighborhood dumpster. These images were Ted's first taste of pornography; and he, along with his friends, began searching for it and sometimes buying it regularly after that initial discovery. You may know the end of the story. Ted Bundy did not grow up to be an ordinary adult; he grew up to be one of history's most notorious rapists and murderers.

Violence and Pornography

Pornography impacts more than emotions and decision making; it can actually affect a person's actions. When Ted Bundy was asked what led him to the crimes he committed, he did not point to a bad family life. In fact, this clean and well educated man professed to have been raised in a good Christian home. The factor he emphasized that fueled his fantasies was pornography, which he became addicted to after the dumpster discovery.

Perhaps the most distressing dynamic of pornography is it's propensity to lead toward violent sexual crimes. Among one group of prostitutes who had been raped, 24% spontaneously mentioned references to pornography by their attackers. It may be easy for some people to distance themselves from the plight of a prostitute's rape, but more personal are reports that 10% of all women report being forced, because of pornography, into sexual acts they did not want. Pornography has the potential to drive some men beyond what they believed they were capable of. Ted Bundy said he was horrified after his first offense, not believing he was capable of such an act. Yet, pornography feeds upon men's already present sexual desires and can drive them out of control. Dr. Archibald Hart says many rapists are, "men who have given up struggling to control their sex drive."

Subtle Effects

At this point, many men would say, "I have no problem with aggression, so this topic doesn't apply to me." Consider this, a group of people exposed to six eight-minute sexually explicit films one day a week for six weeks recommended an average sentence of five years less for rape offenders. This study found that both men and women became more callous to rape after this exposure.Even if you do not struggle with aggression, by watching pornography you are more likely to develop attitudes that reinforce those who do.