Berl Kutchinsky

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Berl Kutchinsky
Berl Kutchinsky
Berl Kutchinsky
Born August 14, 1935(1935-08-14)
Aarhus, Denmark
Died March 9, 1995 (aged 59)
Copenhagen, Denmark
Nationality Danish
Fields Criminology
Institutions University of Copenhagen
Known for Public health effects of pornography

Berl Kutchinsky (1935 - 1995) was a Danish Professor of Criminology at the University of Copenhagen. He became internationally famous for his studies in the public health effects of pornography.

Based in Denmark, which in 1969 became the first country to legalize pornography[1], Kutchinsky was in a unique position to study the effect of pornography on a massive scale. His findings created great controversy as they did not support the previously held notion that legalizing pornography would lead to an increase of sex crimes.

His first work on the subject, Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark (1970), was a scientific report ordered by the United States' Presidential Commisson on Obscenity and Pornography.

Berl Kutchinsky's last book, Law, pornography, and crime: The Danish experience, was edited by his colleague Annika Snare and published posthumously in 1999.

[edit] Selected works

  • Studies on Pornography and sex crimes in Denmark (New Social Science Monographs, Denmark 1970)
  • Obscenity and Pornography: Behavioral Aspects, In: Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice, Vol. 3, pp 1077-1086 (The Free Press, Macmillan, New York 1983)
  • Pornography and its Effects in Denmark and the United States: A Rejoinder and Beyond, in: Comparative Social Research, vol. 8, pp. 301-30 (JAI Press, USA 1985)
  • Som hånd i hanke, In: Hug nr. 42/43 (Tiderne Skifter, Denmark 1985)
  • Big sister is watching!, In: Umoralske opstød - 15 debatindlæg om s/m, pornografi og nypuritanisme (Juvelen, Denmark 1986)
  • Legalised pornography in Denmark, In: Men Confronting Pornography, pp. 233-45, 335-6 (Crown Publishers, New York 1990)
  • Pornography and rape: Theory and practice? Evidence from crime data in four countries where pornography is easily available, In: International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, vol. 14, 1991, no. 1 & 2, pp. 47-64. (1991)
  • Pornography, Sex Crime and Public Policy (Institute of Criminology and Criminal Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark 1991)
  • Den pornografiske scene, In: Social Kritik nr. 64, June 1999 (Selskabet til fremme af Social Debat, Denmark 1999)
  • Law, pornography, and crime: The Danish experience (Pax Forlag, Oslo 1999)

[edit] Further reading

[edit] References

  1. ^ Berl Kutchinsky: The first law that legalized pornography