Many consider pornography to be a “victimless crime.” After all, no one forces the actors to engage in what they do and no one is forced to watch. It’s all done behind closed doors, so who cares?

Family therapist Karen Child has a much different take on this issue. After years of counseling families on the brink, Child has found pornography to be as insidious as drugs or gambling, and just as damaging to the stability of a household. The secret use of porn by a family member brings a whole host of ills into the day to day life of a family, all of which accumulate to sometimes do irreversible damage.

Would you always know if someone in your family is addicted to pornography? What are the signs, and if you discover them, what should you do about it?

Child will open your eyes to these facts about porn:

• Pornography addicts are often emotionally and sexually distant.

• A husband addicted to porn may be eager for his wife to leave the house, or may spend long hours at the office or alone on his computer.

• A porn addicted husband may pressure his spouse into degrading sex acts.

• The Internet tricks porn sites use to get their product in front of your kids.

CREDENTIALS: Karen Child is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She is co-creator with Danielle Tiano of a book titled TEMPTATION OF A GENERATION, a guide to opening communication with your kids about pornography.

AVAILABILITY: California, West coast, nationally via telephone
CONTACT: Karen Child, (949) 355-5461 (CA); karenchildma@yahoo.com