Introduction
One of the most significant sectors in the world is thought to be the adult film industry. Pornography is viewed in nearly every home. In our society, there is a predetermined belief that the industry is one of recreation and enjoyment. The truth is far from this, even if it seems like everything is gold and glitter. The lives of those who work on adult film sets are dark and uninteresting, and the industry itself is dehumanising. “Bondage” has been promoted by the industry as legitimate and widespread. Among the primary topics of pornographic videos are the depictions of women as sex slaves and the beating of them on their privates. Bondage and slave sex are not examples of intense sexual activity, despite the fact that many individuals adore them.
It further encourages brutality and abuse among its audience and is blatantly violent and inhumane against the porn star. Human rights organizations have occasionally commented on the coercion of women to work in the porn business and as slaves or servants for powerful patrons. Because they are frequently coerced to conduct violent and dehumanising pornographic actions, porn actors’ human rights are infringed. Other human rights abuses include fraudulent contracts, non-consensual sex, child abuse, and trafficking. In addition to the performers, such content has a significant impact on the audience. They are exposed to so much unusual and inappropriate sexual behaviour that they frequently want to engage in the same kind of sexual activity as their partners. They begin acting like the performers and become antagonistic towards their spouses, which leads to a rise in the number of sexual offences and assaults against women. Many pornographic websites buy amateur videos and let users post them to their portals. Men are more likely to use covert cameras to record intimate moments with their spouses, which they then sell to porn websites for a healthy profit.
Women Dignity Affected by Pornography
Porn actors’ human rights are violated by obscenity since it diminishes their self-worth and amounts to forced labour and sexual slavery. Every human has the same and equal set of rights. Humans are free from birth, according to Article 1 of the UDHR, and each person’s dignity must be upheld and preserved, according to Article 1 of the European Union’s Charter of Fundamental Rights. While not all, a large number of porn actors endure humiliation and are forced to engage in sexual actions against their will. This is an insult to their dignity. The right to life, liberty, and personal security is guaranteed to all people under Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both Article 4 of the UDHR and the European Convention on Human Rights prohibit slavery and servitude. According to Article 23, the trafficking of humans is forbidden . To protect the rights of their citizens, nation-states ratify a variety of instruments and accords. Article 6 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women mandates that the State parties take steps to prevent women from being abused and trafficked. Sexuality-related trade is morally repugnant and harmful to human welfare and dignity, according to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. The IPC’s sections 292 and 293 prohibit pornography. Article 23 of the Indian Constitution forbids forced labour in any form and the trafficking of persons. Trafficking for “commercial sexual exploitation” is punishable by the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act, which imposes sentences ranging from seven years to life.
In a Globalised World, Child Pornography is Abundant
A child is defined by law as an individual who is less than 18 years old. Due to its simple availability on the internet, pornography involving children has become more prevalent in recent decades. Commercial sexual harassment of children was defined as “sexual abuse by the adult and remuneration in cash or kind to the child or a third person or persons” by the World Congress against Commercial sexual assault of Children in 1996. It encompasses child sex tourism, child pornography, and child prostitution. Furthermore, it is also considered commercial sexual exploitation when a minor engages in sexual behaviour in exchange for cash, food, shelter, or any other necessity. In a 2015 Pornhub poll, India ranked third among the countries with the highest pornographic viewing rates. First and second place went to the United States and the United Kingdom, respectively. Despite the country’s strict laws against the use of child pornography, Indian consumers are more interested in “teen porn”. According to the Optional Protocol on the Trading in of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography, “any portrayal of a child participating in actual or virtual explicit sexual behaviour or of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes” is considered child pornography.
Although it’s not always disclosed, smuggling in adult films is not uncommon
Adult video consumers think that porn stars are willingly participating in these kinds of films. They justify pornography by arguing that entertainers would not have stayed in the business if they didn’t love what they were doing. This might not always be the case. Although the porn business and human trafficking may not seem connected, the truth is very different. “Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of an infringement of power or of a position of weakness, or of the exchange of money or other inducements to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation” is the definition of trafficking given in Article 3 of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Traffic At the absolute least, exploitation must involve the following: forced labour or services; prostitution or other types of sexual exploitation; slavery or acts comparable to it; and the harvesting of organs. Sexual slavery is a kind of human trafficking in which women and children are trafficked for the intention of being used as props in commercial or sexual contexts. “Any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person” is the definition of “business-related sexual activity.” The UN agreements do not provide a precise definition for “sexual smuggling,” but the United States Parliamentary Act does.
Conclusion
Everyone is free to select the career path that best suits them. Being pornographers and prostitutes does not make them any less human. They do, however, have the same and comparable human rights to those who pursue other careers. Human rights also apply to a porn star’s freedom from coerced sex. Because it is so difficult to show “consent” in the porn industry, the argument that the porn performers accepted the work with consent is invalid. What she consented to and for what reason is still unclear. Did she give her consent to have basic sex, sex in any way, or did she get her consent by lying about the conditions of the agreement? It gets more difficult to substantiate each of these statements. Aggressive porn movies have been linked to an increase in animosity and aggressiveness towards female partners. These industries don’t care about worker safety; they only care about making money. Hollywood promotes similar content, as shown in the film 50 Shades of Grey, in addition to the porn business. Although national and international rules seem fine in theory, there is always a vacuum that has to be closed in practice.
CONTRIBUTED BY- SPERSH GUPTA
BHARATI VIDYAPEETH DEEMED UNIVERSITY (2023-26)