Conference aims to fight pornography addiction

Members of the Rexburg community came together Saturday morning to fight pornography.

They took part in the Unite to Fight Pornography Conference, which was put on by the group Citizens for Decency. It featured several speakers, including a neurologist who spoke about pornography as a public health issue despite pornography addiction not being recognized as a mental health disease by the American Psychiatric Association. Other speakers talked about how it affects the lives of not only those who are addicted, but their families as well. Speakers said pornography addiction is a plague affecting the whole world, but there is a way to overcome it.

“Pornography is serious,” said Craig Cobia, co-founder of Citizens for Decency. “It’s possibly much more serious than many people may realize or understand. But with that, hope, healing, education.”

Many of the speakers said they knew people close to them who had this addiction, which is why they want to put an end to it.

“Most people know someone very close to them who has been impacted adversely by pornography, who is still struggling, who is recovering,” Cobia said. “And so this is for them to help the others, but also to arm themselves so that they may protect, we may protect ourselves from going down that path.”

There were two sessions at the conference, one for church and civic leaders and another for the community. The sessions were streamed online and can be watched on the Citizens for Decency website.