The Pornography Effect: the Problems Reach Further than You Could Imagine

Melea Stephens is a practicing marriage and family therapist and an activist leader against sexual exploitation in her home state of Alabama. She is a
board member with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and the founder of Rescue Innocence Movement, a nonprofit created to protect this generation
of children from the harms of sexual exploitation through prevention, education, and legislation.

After witnessing the detrimental effects of hardcore pornography in the lives of both children and adults she treated, Melea felt a call to raise awareness
about the unacknowledged health and societal harms of this illegal material. Since 2012, Melea has organized several city and statewide events and
public awareness campaigns. She frequently partners with anti-trafficking leaders to promote education and meet the needs of survivors of sexual exploitation.
Through the Rescue Innocence Movement and with the help of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and local leaders, she has been instrumental
in the launch of the nation’s first emergency treatment program for pediatric survivors of sex trafficking at UAB Hospital. Melea often speaks publicly
on topics such as the public health crisis of pornography and enhancing sexual intimacy within the context of Christian marriage. She was also a key
leader in the recent passage of the Alabama Resolution to Declare Pornography a Public Health Crisis. Melea longs to see a day when the evil of sexual
exploitation is fully extinguished by a majority in society who have grown intolerant of its immense harms and injustices. She believes that, through
continued awareness, education, advocacy, and united activism, that day is close within our grasp.

Resources

• Rescue Innocence Movement: RImovement.org
• I Don’t Love You Anymore, by Dr David Clark
  ~ book filled with hard-hitting truth about the mindset of a spouse in infidelity and the best way to save one’s marriage through boundaries and
  self-respect (on Amazon)
• Dirty Dozen list: endsexualexploitation.org/dirtydozen-2020
• Global Summit by the Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation: endsexualexploitation.org/cesesummit2020
• the Action Center: https://endsexualexploitation.org/actioncenter

• Best resource for inoculating children from the harmful effects of pornography: protectyoungminds.org
• Best resource for teens: fightthenewdrug.org/about
• Resources for spouses of addicts: Betrayal Trauma Recovery, btr.org
  
  &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp, LifeStar Network, lifestarnetwork.org
• Non-religious platform for those seeking to break free from pornography addiction: rebootnation.org
  
  &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp, NoFap, Nofap.com