Bid to outlaw porno-hypnosis

Press, 19 June 1986, Page 28

Bid to outlaw porno-hypnosis

NZPA London Cowboy hypnotists are putting victims in a trance to stage live sex shows for cabaret audiences, the hypnotists’ federation has said. The subjects are made to commit sex acts on stage by rogue hypnotists who abuse their skills to make quick money, said Mr Peter Casson, chairman of the Federation of Ethical Stage Hypnotists. Now the federation will seek legal restrictions to halt the spread of “pornohypnosis,” which, it says, increasingly is being practised. It wants the Home Office to set up a central licensing scheme for stage hypnotists so that those who bring the profession into disrepute can be outlawed. The call was made at the annual meeting in Doncaster, of the seven-year-old federation, which has 22 members. Mr Casson said: “Porno-

hypnosis is very big in the United States. “People are hypnotised and led into committing sexual acts in public demonstrations.” He said the practice was increasingly being used in Britain. “We are not talking about Soho — we are talking about theatres and clubs all over the country. “In one case we know of two men being stripped off and made to run around nude in a working men’s club in South Wales. “In another case, we know of a hypnotist introducing a life sized inflatable rubber doll, and of a subject being made to simulate a sexual act with the doll.” He said cowboy hypnotists were destroying trust and credibility for the reputable ones. “We are all being tarred with the same brush. The things that are being done are quite contrary to our code of conduct,” he said.