The 31-year-old became one of the most searched names on the Internet in India when she arrived in 2011 to appear in a reality TV series and has since taken several raunchy roles in mainstream movies.
As India casts around for reasons to explain a series of horrifying sex crimes, the latest being the kidnap and brutal rape of a five-year-old girl, pornography is under scrutiny and has led some to call for Leone to be jailed.
Recent events have galvanised anti-porn campaigners after it was revealed, via unnamed police officers quoted in local newspapers, that the suspects in the rape of the five-year-old had watched explicit material before the crime.
Aroused by video clips on their mobile phones, they allegedly abducted the girl in a working class area in eastern New Delhi and drunkenly raped her so violently she was left with life-threatening injuries.
The pornography claims coincide with a separate legal effort in the Supreme Court to introduce an outright ban on such material in India.
"Our children are accessing more and more graphic and brutal videos and they are imitating them and we are suffering," Kamlesh Vaswani, a commercial lawyer who has petitioned the Supreme Court to demand a ban, told AFP.
"Our laws are very vague in this area so it can be corrected in the Supreme Court," he said ahead of the next hearing in the case set for April 29.
Two Indian laws already outlaw the distribution or creation of obscene material, with the Information Technology Act (2000) prescribing up to five years in jail for anyone caught publishing "lascivious" material.
But as most of the pornography accessed in India is on sites outside the jurisdiction of prosecutors and viewed in the privacy of homes or on mobile phones, convictions are rare and the restrictions are largely meaningless.
"It is technically possible to ban it," said 41-year-old Vaswani, who has a 10-year-old son at home in the central city of Indore. "They need to have some expert help from the IT sector."
He blames Leone, star of X-rated hits including "Sunny's Slumber Party," for bringing adult material in India to a wider audience.
"She deserves to go to jail if she continues to promote pornography," he added.
Appearing in a debate on Monday night on the Headlines Today news channel, Leone defended her dual career as porn star and actress and dismissed fears that adult material was linked to sex crime.
"Pornography is not for people who think it's for real. It's fantasy and it's entertainment," she said, dressed in a full-length yellow outfit revealing only her lower arms.
"It's complete nonsense to blame rape on adult material out there. Education starts at home. It's mums and dads sitting with their children and teaching them what is right and wrong."
Fellow star John Abraham also defended her, saying those seeking to blame pornography for rapes were missing the root cause of the problem in India – social attitudes to women and a lack of education.
"By banning something you're not going to solve the problem. The world over, people have access to porn. Are there rape cases like this (of the five-year-old) that exist the world over? No.
"Did rape cases exist before porn came into being? Yes," he said.
The debate about links between pornography and sex crime mirrors other largely unresolved controversies globally about whether violent video games cause gun crime or if gangster rap encourages anti-social behaviour.
Some experts deny any link, pointing to stable or declining incidences of rape in some countries where pornography has gone from scarcity to ubiquity in the last 15 years thanks to its availability on the Internet.
Others say the Internet provides a forum for criminally-minded perverts to meet and vocalise their darkest desires. It also creates an industry that produces ever more depraved and damaging material.
The Supreme Court ruling in India will set a new legally binding precedent and could force the government to find a way to ban one of the most searched for subjects on Google.
"In terms of the larger debate, whether porn leads to violence, I don't think anyone should have a knee-jerk reaction and say it does," junior IT minister Milind Deora said Tuesday.
"We are a liberal society and we don't want to get into the space of censoring content."
COMMENTS (47)
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@osman: "Do give the source as well. You copied whole article from yahoo :D"
Do you have any idea how news is created in today's world? Its by AFP which is a news agency supplying news to various news publisher. You can find the same article on various news website and other medias.
Why are here so many porn supporters .. I wonder :o_O
Sunny’s Slumber Party lolzzzzzzzzzzzz
@Manju:
You are absolutely right. I agree with you completely. However, you have started a different conversation. My point was that porn has had a huge impact on how the society works. It is human nature when we see something we want to try it and since this world has plenty of hardships even those whom we consider normal would at times loose their calm and let their wild instincts come forth. Worst case scenario is when our wild side gets aroused due to visual simulation especially provided by media containing porn.
Moral laws are there for a reason.
I am not against any porn actor. I believe in one thing: hate the sin not the sinner.
I'm off to download "Sunny's slumber party" via torrent.
@Raj - USA:
If one needs religion to understand morality, then there is something very wrong with the person.
@maestro:
I am sure she is devastated.
Countries where sex is considered part of normal behavior are producing less off springs. Countries where sex is taboo are over populated, have more sexual crimes including rapes, sodomy, eve teasing etc. Its time for such societies to discuss sex. The parents should have open mind and should be educated about how to impart the education to their kids.
India has been the land of Kamasutra and erotic sculptures on temple walls. Indian society was the most open on sexual matters. present day India is sexually starved nation. Unless girl population is protected and treated well, things will continue this way. At least there is an open debate in India on the subject. This will bring out something positive ssurely.
@Nobody: For being a nobody, you write rather well.
I am truly impressed by your words.
@Shahrukh Suleman: US is also a country with a high child molestation rate. Brother, there is a difference between reporting bad things in detail and hiding them in the fear of being issued a fatwa against yourself.... US undoubtedly is a country which does not spare people for crimes. The only reason why US has high rates of crimes is that people there have a low tolerance for crime and high regards for human rights... (That does not mean crimes don't happen there, but it certainly means that whenever a crime happens it gets reported).. Now, if you have the 'guts' to do it, try going to your neighborhood in Pakistan and ask a female there whether she has been inappropriately approached by men around. (You very well know the risk you shall face from the men of that family). When taboo is high, crimes are hidden. The taboos in US are not many and regards for someone's rights are high and thus the report..
@Saqib Shah: rough in india?? no no blasts are happening in pakistan....:)
@BlackJack: or eyes
Banning porn doesn't help the situation. I'm a woman and I'm not going to pretend like I don't watch it. As an adult, it's my choice to watch whatever I like. It has not had an adverse effect on me. Most adults have watched or do watch porn and not all of them run around raping people afterwards. Personally, I'm not a fan of porn depicting violence against women but I don't think there is a link between that alone and violence against women. The problem is much bigger than adult entertainment. Tie all of the misogyny together: viewing women as only sources of pleasure, viewing the "good" women as only wife or mother, nothing else, placing importance on virginity, placing all family honor on what a woman does, etc. THESE things are the problem, not adult entertainment, whether openly admitted or voyeuristic in nature. Cheers.
Dear ET mods, Please don't censor me because I said the word porn. I haven't said anything vulgar or out of line. Simply stating my two cents. Cheers.
Rape is a problem unrelated to porn.
LoL, it gave me a shock when I read the first eight words of the headline, and then came a sigh of relief when I was done reading the whole headline, lol. Stay safe, sunny! It's rough in india these days.
If porn can promote rapes, then movies can promote violence or perhaps books can promote all sorts of other destructive ideas! Virulent ideologies like terrorism are spread by speech. Perhaps anyone who speaks, writes a book or makes a movie should be arrested/banned?
The rapes are committed by criminals who are deranged, frustrated, angry or desperate. In reality Rape is forced sex, which happens in animal kingdom all the time. Humans are evolved with a sense of civility and abide by rules.
But, a few can't control their animal instincts - thus become animals. This has been the case even in history (much before books/movies or porn was ever made). This will continue even if porn/books/movies were banned - because a small percentage of humans will continue to be animals.
If at all something needs to be banned, it is violence. Violence in speech, Movies and in Porn. Because that is what causes true harm - not erotic material.
I am surprised that no one bothered to ask Veena Malik, our princess, what her take was on this issue. She is already part of this pack and the right person to ask.
thank god indians also make completely illogical assumptions and think about making absurd laws....its not just us people,... cheers!
cannot agree more with SarcasticBilla
I see what you did there ET....Nice job.
He blames Leone, star of X-rated hits including “Sunny’s Slumber Party,”............
I seriously disagree with the stance of both Sunny Leone and John Abraham. The biggest production of porn is in United States. US is also a country with a high child molestation rate. People simply can never let their children out of their site.
As for pornography, it has always been part of the society and has always been a cause of great contention. I doubt Miss Leone and Mr Abraham every studied world history otherwise they would know pornography has always given birth to immorality (fantasy gives birth to actions).
Have you every studied Greek and Roman cultures? Did you every read about Pompeii the city of Rome buried under molten lava? Wasn't pornography there during Renaissance era (which we call sculpture art now)?
Imagining a fictitious thing is one thing but seeing it as a reality through eyes is another. It effects your psyche. If you do not agree with me you can check with a psychologist or a psychiatrist. This is a way which makes you want to try those things.
I think it has to do with law and justice in the society, strong laws are needed to convict these rapists.
well done ET, for publicizing at least name of one movie that Sunny Leone has stared, "Sunny's Slumber Party"
Its funny how the Indians are now admitting that indeed she is a porn star. When Jism 2 came out, they were saying "model turned actress"! LOLS. She shouldn't go to jail, its her choice if she wants to use her looks and body for wrong purposes. I just googled her and apparently she has 5 brothers, my God how they must feel watching her in porn videos. Disgusting. wouldn't touch her if I saw her considering how many men and and women she's been with in the porn industry. And yes porn does enhance rapists because the young teenagers think every woman is just a piece of meat to enjoy and dispose of. It develops their mind towards females in a negative manner.
@osman: "Do give the source as well. You copied whole article from yahoo :D"
Read below the headline and you will find the source : AFP.
It's not copy. It's a standard release from news agencies which will be published as it is by the news outlets.
@Usman: What so vulgar about it?? Many people have this name, just Google it. She can call your name as vulgar, in fact I do. Could you not find a better name for yourself, criticizing Sunny. She is my favorite actress.
@Usman: "Even the title is so vulgar."
Yes Usman. This is why the judgement day is fast approaching.
Do give the source as well. You copied whole article from yahoo :D
Its completely nonsense..... Police can't do anything thats why blaming pornography.
It is amazing to see many people are in favour of pornography here !! Sunny U not Alone !
@Hu: She's already in Pakistan....She will present in your computer under the folder
C:\Documents and Settings\Work Documents\Hidden\Sunny Leone.
Dont get on the moral high horse,you know which country tops in porn search
If this was Pakistan.. she would have already been convicted and sent to jail.
Even the title is so vulgar.
This low grade news happens to break way through all the world news on tribune world page? Is this is your reporting standard? Please post something meaningful to educate people not by giving them news which make them think what sunny leone do as a porn star ....
"Two Indian laws already outlaw the distribution or creation of obscene material, with the Information Technology Act (2000) prescribing up to five years in jail for anyone caught publishing “lascivious” material."
Tell me it's a joke. Porn is so freely available in India.
But then, Indians are notorious for arrogantly breaking the rules.
She says: “Pornography is not for people who think it’s for real. It’s fantasy and it’s entertainment,” she said, dressed in a full-length yellow outfit revealing only her lower arms. “It’s complete nonsense to blame rape on adult material out there. Education starts at home. It’s mums and dads sitting with their children and teaching them what is right and wrong.”
I find a startling similarity between pornography and religion. It is also not for people who think it is for real. Education starts at home and it is mums and dads sitting with their children and teaching them what is right and wrong.
Similarity ends here. Taught correctly at home, religion can build moral values. If not, it will have disastrous effects. After all more people have been killed throughout the world by incorrect teachings of religion at homes and religious institutions.
Aroused by video clips on their mobile phones, they allegedly abducted the girl in a working class area in eastern New Delhi and drunkenly raped her so violently she was left with life-threatening injuries. Maybe we should ban mobile phones?
No... Porn has nothing to do with rape. Rape is about power and control on the other person, especially women, not necessarily sex. If you want to reduce rape make women powerful.
Just wondering why should we be worried and reporting this.