[heavensteeth]

I'm not a psychologist but some of these extrapolations seem insane to me.

> Using Czech police records, American and Czech researchers compared rape rates in the Czech Republic for the 17 years before porn was legalized with rates during the 18 years after. Rapes decreased from 800 a year to 500. More porn, less rape.

> In addition, the legalization of porn was associated with a decrease in another despicable sex crime, child sexual abuse. Under Communism, arrests for child sex abuse averaged 2,000 a year. After porn became legal, the figure dropped by more than half to fewer than 1,000. More porn, fewer sex crimes.

The country's entire foundation shifted from underneath it; an empire collapsed around it. How could they possibly isolate the legalisation of pornography specifically as the cause of decreased rape? Why not the legalisation of private enterprise? Is it not feasible that living in a repressive, controlled, surveilled society caused men unrest?

Perhaps the studies cited went into more detail, but "Lots of rape in 1985, less rape in 2005. Porn was legalised between then, ergo porn caused this." does NOT convince me.

[derbOac]

Fair enough although that's not the only statistics they cite.

More importantly I think they're trying to point out the converse of maybe what you're pointing to, which is that as porn availability increases, if it caused sexual assault, rates of the latter would go up. But it doesn't, you see the opposite trend time and time again.

This is one of those cases where you'll never be able to do a RCT, so any study will be flawed in some way (even RCTs have their issues).

[cluckindan]

It seems more likely that sexual offenses were used as an excuse to arrest and defame political opposition and activists.

[hulitu]

> It seems more likely that sexual offenses were used as an excuse to arrest and defame political opposition and activists.

Or sexual offenses were more tolerated.