Washington, DC (February 13, 2020) – The National Center on Sexual Exploitation is calling on Visa and Mastercard to cease allowing payments to be processed at Pornhub given recent news that sex-trafficked children and adults have been found on the website.
Visa was recently named to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s 2020 Dirty Dozen List for partnering with the pornography industry by processing payments for pornography with themes of sexual violence, racism, incest, and the fetishization of minors.
“Pornhub is founded on, and produces, sexual exploitation. Recent cases of sex-trafficked children and adults have been found on this website, and advocates have found a disturbing lack of age verification to even upload pornographic videos,” said Patrick A. Trueman, president and CEO of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
“But beyond these high-profile abuses, it’s also important to recognize that Pornhub is filled with, and profiting from, pornography eroticizing incest, racism, and sexual violence against women. And further, the porn industry inflicts trauma on pornography performers day-in and day-out. Research has shown that mainstream porn performers regularly experience physical trauma, mental health problems, health risks, and that they often exit the industry in financial insecurity.
“Because the pornography industry is both inextricably tied to sexual abuses and is exploitive within itself, we are calling on Visa and Mastercard to stop processing payments for pornography websites. Other major payment systems, such as PayPal, have rejected profits from the sex industry by refusing to allow their system to be used by pornography websites. Visa and Mastercard must do the same.”
