Women and Pornography, Breaking the Chains

Jessica Harris

Mention pornography and most people think, “That’s a problem for men.” Yet 76% of 18 – 30 year old American women report that they watch porn at least once a month. Three percent of all women say they either thought they might be addicted or are unsure if they are addicted to pornography. This equates to three million women.* These stats are from 2018, so it’s safe to say the numbers are growing. Is there help for women addicted to pornography? In this conversation with Sharon Betters, Jessica Harris says yes!

Jessica shares her own story of how pornography drew her in when she was a middle schooler and how she found solace and acceptance through the internet and eventually chat rooms. Jessica describes the secrecy of her addiction and how it led to shame and guilt that she didn’t know how to break. Then, a woman acknowledged to a group of young adult females that pornography addiction was a woman thing, too. Suddenly, Jessica had hope that the chains of addiction could be broken. Jessica shares her journey as a means to offer hope to others. (More details below.)

Biography of Jessica Harris

Jessica Harris is an author, blogger, international speaker and the creator of beggarsdaughter.com, a blog about the sexual struggles of women in the church and how they can find grace.

She began sharing her story in 2009 and since then has been asked to speak in Christian communities around the world, helping to change the conversation about sexual struggles (specifically pornography addiction) in the church. It is her desire for these sensitive issues to be approached with grace and the hope of freedom instead of shame.

She has written content for Focus on the Family, Brio Magazine, and the Lies Young Women Believe blog, and partnered with CRU (Campus Crusade for Christ) to create their online "Desire" series.

In 2016, she released her self-published memoir, Beggar's Daughter: From the Rags of Pornography to the Riches of Grace. This book takes an honest look at her own struggle with pornography and the shame she felt struggling while in the church. In 2017, she followed Beggar's Daughter with Love Done Right: Reflections, a devotional book for college aged women.

More resources are in the works, and Jessica continues to blog at beggarsdaughter.com, sharing her story and insight into the struggle many Christian women face.

Jessica got married at 32 and now resides in Maryland with her husband and their baby girl. For more information, visit www.beggarsdaughter.com

Jessica also shares her story in her book Beggar’s Daughter and her ministry of the same name.

Learn more about breaking the chains of pornography and that you are not alone in your battle – women across the world are ready to come alongside of you in your struggle to break the chains of pornography.

Be encouraged by the resources you will find at https://beggarsdaughter.com/

*Source: June 1, 2018, https://fightthenewdrug.org/by-the-numbers-see-how-many-people-are-watching-porn-today/. 6 Heather Schroering, “The porn problem,” Chicago Tribune, July 14, 2015, accessed June 1, 2018, http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/redeye-porn-addiction-20150714-story.html.