Impact of Pornography: Bringing it Out in the Light

A new initiative is getting underway to educate and unite women who are victimized by a spouseââ?¬â?¢s pornography habit. Itââ?¬â?¢s called ââ?¬Å?Out in the Light: Women Uniting Against Pornography.ââ?¬Â Joining Sunday Edition is Dr. Liz Hale, a clinical psychologist in marriage and family relations. She serves as a board member on the Utah Commission on Marriage and appears frequently on Studio 5.

Dr. Hale says women often blame themselves when their husbands have a pornography problem. She tells women, ââ?¬Å?Itââ?¬â?¢s absolutely not your fault, you did not cause it, you cannot control it and you cannot cure it.ââ?¬Â

Trust is not destroyed forever, according to Dr. Hale, especially if a husband says he will do whatever it takes to recover and to hold the marriage and family together.

ââ?¬Å?There is no greater asset than a supportive wife for a husband, when they can walk that road together of recovery,ââ?¬Â she says. ââ?¬Å?When we can stay out of the way, as women, and realize we didnââ?¬â?¢t cause it. That we are enough, and we donââ?¬â?¢t buy into what society tells us that we are not pretty enough, thin enough, whatever enough.ââ?¬Â

ââ?¬Å?Out in the Lightââ?¬Â is designed to help women.

ââ?¬Å?ââ?¬Ë?Out in the Lightââ?¬â?¢ is a multifaceted, all out blitz on behalf of Deseret Media Companies to use every resource available ââ?¬â? ksl.com, KSL-TV, KSL Newsradio, Deseret Book and the Deseret News ââ?¬â? to bring this issue out in the light. And more than anything to help direct, educate, and unite women who might be victimized by this. To let them know they are not alone, to let them know there are resources out there and give them access to other women so they can share their feelings and be able to get help,ââ?¬Â explains Haws. ââ?¬Å?This is an initiative that as more and more research is done and the more we talk to people, and people came to us, unsolicited, we realized just how prevalent this is. And this is something that needed to be addressed, needed to be literally be brought out of the shadows.ââ?¬Â

The ââ?¬Å?Out in the Lightââ?¬Â website allows people to connect with others, seek professional help and make a pledge. ââ?¬Å?The pledge doesnââ?¬â?¢t just talk about pornography, it talks about media in general. It talks about texting, about e-mails, about what to do if you are exposed to pornography, what to do if someone wants to meet up with you that you met online, who to tell, who to go to,ââ?¬Â says Haws. ââ?¬Å?So it allows a family to sit down and put together an action plan.ââ?¬Â