child pornography statistics
2006 Pornography Revenues
Top 4 Countries
China $27,400,000,000
South Korea $25,730,000,000
Japan $19,980,000,000
US $13,330,000,000
TOTAL Worldwide = $97,060,000,000
"The pornography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink"
2006 Pornography United States Industry Revenue Statistics
Video Sales & Rentals $3,620,000,000
Internet $2,840,000,000
Cable / PPV / In-Room / Mobile / Phone Sex $2,190,000,000
Exotic Dance Clubs $2,000,000,000
Novelties $1,730,000,000
Magazines $950,000,000
TOTAL US REVENUE
$13,330,000,000
"US porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC"
Internet Pornography Statistics
Pornographic websites 4.2 million (12% of total websites)
Pornographic pages 420 million
Daily pornographic search engine requests 68 million (25% of total search engine requests)
Daily pornographic emails 2.5 billion (8% of total emails)
Internet users who view porn 42.7%
Received unwanted exposure to sexual material 34%
Average daily pornographic emails/user 4.5 per Internet user
Monthly Pornographic downloads (Peer-to-peer) 1.5 billion (35% of all downloads)
Daily Gnutella "child pornography" requests 116,000
Websites offering illegal child pornography 100,000
Sexual solicitations of youth made in chat rooms 89%
Youths who received sexual solicitation 1 in 7 (down from 2003 stat of 1 in 3)
Worldwide visitors to pornographic web sites 72 million visitors to pornography: Monthly
Internet Pornography Sales $4.9 billion
Children Internet Pornography Statistics
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography 11 years old
Largest consumer of Internet pornography 35 - 49 age group
15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures 80%
8-16 year olds having viewed porn online 90% (most while doing homework)
7-17 year olds who would freely give out home address 29%
7-17 year olds who would freely give out email address 14%
Children's character names linked to thousands of porn links 26 (Including Pokemon and Action Man)
Adult Internet Pornography Statistics
Men admitting to accessing pornography at work 20%
US adults who regularly visit Internet pornography websites 40 million
Promise Keeper men who viewed pornography in last week 53%
Christians who said pornography is a major problem in the home 47%
Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction 10%
Breakdown of male/female visitors to pornography sites 72% male - 28% female
Women and Pornography
Women keeping their cyber activities secret 70%
Women struggling with pornography addiction 17%
Ratio of women to men favoring chat rooms 2X
Percentage of visitors to adult websites who are women 1 in 3 visitors
Women accessing adult websites each month 9.4 million
Women admitting to accessing pornography at work 13%
Women, far more than men, are likely to act out their behaviors in real life, such as having multiple partners, casual sex, or affairs.
Top Pornography Banning Countries
Saudia Arabia, Iran, Syria, Bahrain, Egypt, UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Kenya, India, Cuba, China
Pornographic Webpages By Country
United States 244,661,900
Germany 10,030,200
United Kingdom 8,506,800
Australia 5,655,800
Japan 2,700,800
The Netherlands 1,883,800
Russia 1,080,600
Poland 1,049,600
Spain 852,800
Pornographers’ Tricks
Spam mail accounted for 58 percent of the world’s e-mail in December 2003.
Adult content comprised 18 percent of spam mail in December 2003.
More than 80 percent of children using e-mail receive inappropriate messages, and 47 percent receive pornographic spam on a daily basis. Further, one in five children (21 percent) open and view spam email.
In 2002, the Federal Trade Commission created 150 e-mail addresses and posted them around the Web. Of those posted on children’s newsgroups, 30 percent received spam for pornography and other adult products and 10 percent received spam for hallucinogenic drugs.
A 2001 survey of adult-oriented sites showed that a majority displayed adult content on the first page, which anyone could see. Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) did not indicate the adult nature of the site and only 11 percent included such a notice and also did not feature adult content on the first page. About 25 percent of adult sites hindered the user from leaving. Only three percent required a credit card or other “adult check” to proceed past the first page of the site, where free content could be viewed.
Inadvertent Exposure
A 1999 study found that one in four minors had at least one inadvertent exposure to sexually explicit material that year, with the majority of these exposures occurring to youth 15 years of age or older. The vast majority of cases (94 percent) involved naked people; about 38 percent of the images involved people having sex. Eight percent included violence in addition to nudity and/or sex.
By 2003 the number of children aged 8-16 who had viewed pornography online increased to 90 percent. Most of this exposure happened while doing homework online.
Twenty-three percent of youth who reported accidentally viewing a pornographic site were “very or extremely upset by the exposure.”
The children who inadvertently saw these images saw them while surfing the Internet (71 percent), and while opening e-mail or clicking on links in e-mail or Instant Messages (28 percent). Sixty-seven percent of these exposures occurred at home, but 15 percent happened at school and 3 percent in libraries.
Inadvertent exposures happened on the Web as the result of searches (47 percent), misspelled addresses (17 percent), and links in Web sites (17 percent). And, in 26 percent of those exposed-while-surfing incidents, youth reported that they were brought to another sex site when they tried to exit the site they were in.
For those exposed through e-mail, 63 percent were associated with an email address used solely by the individual; 93 percent of inadvertent email exposures came from someone unknown to the individual.
Children Seeking Online Pornography
A representative of the Internet pornography industry told the Child Online Protection Act (COPA) Commission in July 2000 that 19 percent of visitors to the top adult-oriented Web reviewed by his group were under age 15.
The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 15 percent of online teens (19 percent of boys and 11 percent of girls ages 12 to 17) say they have lied about their age to gain access to a Web site – an action most often involved in gaining access to pornographic sites. One-quarter of boys ages 15 to 17 have claimed to be older to gain access to a site.
According to Nielsen/Net ratings, nearly 16 percent of viewers of adult-oriented Web sites in February 2002 were under age 18.
Bill Johnson, director of marketing for adult-oriented Flying Crocodile, estimates that traffic to some sites is 20 to 30 percent children. Johnson also explained that even using current Adult Verification Services (AVSs), adult sites receive 5 percent of their traffic from children.
The Tacoma, Washington, public library monitored users’ attempts to access materials blocked by filtering software. The median age for users with blocked requests was only 16, and the age that generated the greatest number of intercepts was 13. Overall, the library found that 6 percent of total sessions at public terminals were attempts to access sites that were believed to provide graphic materials "depicting full nudity and sexual acts" for "sensational or pornographic purposes."
A Girls Scouts survey found that teen girls believed they could do the following without their parents’ knowledge:
86 percent – chat in a chat room
57 percent – read their parents’ email
54 percent – carry on a cyber romance
46 percent – set up a meeting with someone they met online
42 percent – view a porn site
Online Predators
One in five young people reported receiving a sexual solicitation or approach in the last year, and one in 30 received an aggressive solicitation. Girls were targeted almost twice as often as boys (66 percent to 34 percent respectively).
Six of 10 online teens have gotten an email or instant message (IM) from a perfect stranger; 63 percent of those who have gotten such emails or IMs say they have responded to the strangers. Overall, 50 percent of those who use instant messaging, email, or chat rooms have corresponded via IM or email with people that they have never met face-to-face. When asked, most teens say they do not tell their parents when a stranger contacts them.
The Girls Scouts Research Institute found that 30 percent of girls have been sexually harassed in a chat room. Of those who were harassed:
30 percent – got out and didn’t tell anyone
28 percent – wrote a nasty note back
21 percent – did nothing because it is a common occurrence
14 percent – told friends
7 percent – told their mom or dad
Online Decision Making
Of youth who say they had talked online with people they did not know in person, 12 percent had sent a picture to the person, and 7 percent have willingly talked about sex.
In addition, 5 percent of youth have posted a picture of themselves for general viewing and 11 percent have posted personal information in a public space, mostly their last name.
Girls make decisions about online behavior based on the following criteria:
84 percent – use their “common sense”
51 percent – follow parents’ advice
46 percent – take hints from the TV or things they have read
29 percent – listen to teachers’ warnings
4 percent – believe “nothing is really bad online because it isn’t real”
More than half (55 percent) of children ages 12 to 15 say they do not tell their parents everything they do online.
Three-fourths of girls say their parents have rules for the Internet. Forty-three percent of girls admit to breaking those rules.
Statistics on Pornography's Effect on Families and Marriages
47% percent of families said pornography is a problem in their home (Focus on the Family Poll, October 1, 2003).
The Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces (American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2003 - divorcewizards.com).
Child Porn
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children revealed, in a June 2005 study, that 40% of arrested child pornography possessors had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography (also known as “dual offenders”). Both crimes were discovered in the same investigation. Another 15% were “dual offenders” who tried to victimize children by soliciting undercover investigators who posed as minors online. Overall 36% of “dual offenders” showed or gave child pornography to identified victims or undercover investigators posing as minors online.
Of those arrested in the U.S. for the possession of child pornography between 2000 and 2001, 83% had images involving children between ages 6 and 12; 39% had images involving children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study. Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2005).
According to a National Children’s Homes report, the number of Internet child pornography images has increased 1500% since 1988.
Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement. Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2003).
Child pornography has become a $3 billion annual industry (Ropelato, Jerry. Top Ten Reviews. Top Ten Reviews, Inc. 5 Dec. 2005 <http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html>).
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), child pornography reports increased 39% in 2004. Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC, states that the statistics show a significant and steady increase in child pornography reports for the seventh year.
More than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the Internet every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).
140,000 child pornography images were posted to the Internet according to researchers who monitored the Internet over six weeks. Twenty children were estimated to have been abused for the first time and more than 1,000 images of each child created (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).
More than half of all illegal sites reported to the Internet Watch Foundation are hosted in the United States. Illegal sites in Russia have more than doubled from 286 to 706 in 2002 (National Criminal Intelligence Service, 8/21/03).
Demand for pornographic images of babies and toddlers on the Internet is soaring (Prof. Max Taylor, Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).
More babies and toddlers are appearing on the net and the abuse is getting worse. It is more torturous and sadistic than it was before. The typical age of children is between six and 12, but the profile is getting younger (Prof. Max Taylor, Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).
Approximately 20 new children appear on the porn sites every month - many kidnapped or sold into sex (Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).
In the last couple of years, we've just seen such young children on regular seizures - babies, 2-, 3-, 4-year-olds (Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie, Toronto Police Force).
The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than 100,000 Web sites offering child pornography - which is illegal worldwide. Revenue estimates for the industry range from about $200 million to more than $1 billion per year. These unlawful sexual images can be purchased as easily as shopping at Amazon.com. "Subscribers" typically use credit cards to pay a monthly fee of between $30 and $50 to download photos and videos, or a one-time fee of a few dollars for single images. (Red Herring Magazine, 1/18/02).
Child Sexual Abuse
A New Zealand Internal Affairs study suggests that there is an association between viewing child pornography and committing child sexual abuse (New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs. Internet Traders of Child Pornography: Profiling Research. By Caroline Sullivan. October 2005. January 10, 2006. < http://www.dia.govt.nz/pubforms.nsf/URL/Profilingupdate2.pdf/$file/Profilingupdate2.pdf>).
A study of The American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that one in six men reported being sexually abused as children. Almost 40 percent of the perpetrators were female (Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Gender of Victim. Volume 28, Issue 5. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. June 2005).
One in four women reported childhood sexual abuse and in most cases perpetrated by males (Long-Term Consequences of Childhood Sexual Abuse by Gender of Victim. Volume 28, Issue 5. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. June 2005).
Mobile Porn
In 2005, worldwide revenue from mobile phone pornography is expected to rise to $1 billion and could grow to three times that number or more within a few years (Bryan-Low, Cassel and Pringle, David. “Sex Cells: Wireless Operators Find That Racy Cellphone Video Drives Surge in Broadband Use.” The Wall Street Journal. May 12, 2005.)
According to IDC, a technology research firm, by the end of 2004 approximately 21 million 5- to 19-year-olds had wireless phones.
One-third of youth ages 11 to 17 have their own cell phones today; it is expected that half will have them within the next two years (English, Bella. “The Secret Life of Boys: Pornography is a Mouse Click Away, and Kids Are Being Exposed To It In Ever-Increasing Numbers.” The Boston Globe May 12, 2005. December 15, 2005 <http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2005/05/12/the_secret_life_of_boys/>).
Adult content on mobile telephones and other portable devices is anticipated to hit $1 billion in worldwide revenues during 2005, according to market research firm Juniper Research. (Juniper Research, "Adult to Mobile: Personal Services," February 2005)
The Juniper report said a 50 percent hike in mobile porn revenues for 2005 over 2004 is likeliest to come from Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions, but by 2009 the world mobile porn market could well enough hit $2.1 billion. (Juniper Research, "Adult to Mobile: Personal Services," February 2005)
Pornography in the Workplace
More than 75% of people at work have accidentally visited a pornographic website, and 15% have visited such sites more than 10 times
Fifty Percent of Workers Spend Nine days a Year on Personal Surfing at Work. Cerberian Inc. and SonicWALL, 20 July 2004.
63 percent of employees are concerned about the ease of access to objectionable content at work
Fifty Percent of Workers Spend Nine days a Year on Personal Surfing at Work. Cerberian Inc. and SonicWALL, 20 July 2004.
Twenty percent of men and 13% of women admitted to accessing pornography at work
Internet Pornography Statistics. Internet Filter Review, 2004.
SOURCES: Citizenlink.org, Internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com, Safefamilies.org/, Mykidsbrowser.com, Nationalcoalition.org/.
