The new nominee for U.S. Attorney General has said that he would “vigorously” enforce obscenity laws, a move which one expert described as a step forward in fighting pornography and violence against women.

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), during his first confirmation hearing last week to become the next Attorney General, was questioned by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) about federal obscenity laws.

Hatch mentioned the state of Utah passing a resolution declaring pornography to be a “public health problem” and asked Sessions if “federal laws prohibiting adult obscenity should be vigorously enhanced?”

Sessions answered that “those laws are clear, and they are being prosecuted today, and should continue to be effectively and vigorously prosecuted in the cases that are appropriate.”

Hatch followed up by asking if Sessions supported the special unit at the Department of Justice to prosecute obscenity crimes, which had been closed during President Obama’s first term.

“I’m not sure I knew that” the special unit had been discontinued, Sessions answered, “but it was a part of the DOJ for a long time and I would consider that.”

Mary G. Leary, a law professor at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law, told CNA that the obscenity laws are “very important” to enforce now because pornography has increased both in the amount of content and in violence.

“Due to limited resources and the explosion of violence against children,” child pornography crimes are a large focus of prosecutors but this leaves other forms of pornography free to “metastasize,” Leary said, “both quantitatively and qualitatively.”

Thus, the violence – especially toward women – has increased in pornography, she said, and “the effect this exposure to very obscene and disturbing imagery [has] can be significant.  Exploitation is a continuum.”

This is another reason why the DOJ special task force should be brought back, she said.

“It would allow that unit to focus on obscene glorifications of sexual violence against women and marginalized members of our community and allow the very effective Child Exploitation component of CEOS at DOJ to continue their focus on child abuse images.”

Full story at Catholic News Agency.