One in eight porn videos promoted to first-time users of the UK’s leading adult sites are labelled with text describing sexually violent acts, according to a study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It analysed titles and descriptions of 131,738 videos on Pornhub, XVideos and XHamster’s launch pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One researcher said the prevalence of descriptions of rape, physical abuse and incest was “shocking”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sites have challenged the study and said they remove illegal content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The findings are published in the latest issue of The British Journal of Criminology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The researchers involved took hourly screenshots of the homepages on the three most popular porn websites, over a six-month period between 2017 and 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Descriptions and titles – but not the content of the videos themselves – were searched-for keywords that corresponded with the World Health Organisation\u2019s definition of sexual violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The researchers then excluded what they considered to be consensual BDSM (bondage, domination and sado-masochism) videos from their findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New visitors
The research reported:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
more than 8,000 titles referred to physical aggression or forced sexual activity
2,966 titles described image-based sexual abuse, including \u201chidden cams\u201d and \u201cupskirting\u201d
5,785 titles described sexual activity between family members – the most common category of \u201csexually violent\u201d material identified in the report
Pornhub, XHamster and XVideos were chosen as they are the three most visited porn websites in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The content would be visible to first-time visitors on the website, and was available to view for free with little or no age verification process, the study said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Common keywords included \u201cforced\u201d, \u201cgrope\u201d and \u201cmolest,\u201d the analysis found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word \u201cteen\u201d was the most frequently appearing word in the entire data, accounting for 7.7% of all videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This rose to 8.5% in videos which were identified as having described sexual violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Terms and conditions
In their terms and conditions, Pornhub and XVideos prohibit all content \u201cdepicting\u201d child sexual abuse, rape, incest and forced sexual acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And XHamster bans material that is \u201cunlawful, threatening, abusive, harassing\u201d or \u201chateful\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pornhub’s owner Mindgeek recently removed millions of videos that had been uploaded by users who had not been verified after claims of hosting illegal content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it defended the clips it has allowed to remain online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cConsenting adults are entitled to their own sexual preferences, as long as they are legal and consensual, and all kinks that meet these criteria are welcome on Pornhub,\u201d said a spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The other sites did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Pornhub released its first-ever transparency report, which said it had removed 653,465 videos for violating its rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Remember, a kink that looks degrading or humiliating is not the same thing as an illegal, abusive, or non-consensual act,” the report added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“What goes on between consenting adults is exactly that: consensual. Non-consent must be distinguished from consent to relinquish control.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Clare McGlynn QC, a professor of law at Durham who co-authored the study, said: \u201cIt\u2019s shocking that this is the material that the porn companies themselves are choosing to showcase to first-time users.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Look convincing\u2019
Fiona Vera-Gray, a legal research fellow and co-author of the study, said sexually violent material \u201ceroticised non-consent\u201d and distorted \u201cthe boundary between sexual pleasure and sexual violence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wording used in titles and descriptions are optimised for searches \u201cto entice an audience,\u201d said Charlotte Rose, a former sex worker of more than 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said the majority of porn produced in the UK was \u201cethical and consensual\u201d but that videos on leading platforms were not always transparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor your average viewer it can be hard to tell what is real and what is fantasy,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPorn performers can make things look convincing, they can depict harm but actually, the actors are enjoying it because that\u2019s their kink.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms Rose said some extreme and unregulated porn \u201ccan create a bridge that leads to other violent acts\u201d and argued that viewers should be \u201cmade aware\u201d of porn videos that are \u201cethical, consensual and fantasy, not real life\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you, or someone you know, have been affected by sexual abuse or violence, this page might be able to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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