Washington D.C., Aug 22, 2015 / 04:24 am

International hotel and resort chain Hilton Worldwide has changed its policies to eliminate on-demand video pornography from its hotel rooms across the globe, according to an advocacy group.

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation announced the reported decision, saying that it "is grateful to Hilton for its decision to no longer seek profits from hardcore pornography."

"We want to publicly thank Hilton for its decision to create a safe and positive environment for all of its customers," said Dawn Hawkins, the group's executive director, in an Aug. 17 statement.

"Hilton has taken a stand against sexual exploitation. Pornography not only contributes to the demand for sex trafficking, which is a serious concern in hotels, but it also contributes to child exploitation, sexual violence, and lifelong porn addictions," Hawkins continued.  

The connection between pornography and sexual exploitation has gained increasing attention in recent years.

In 2012, Catholic law professor Robert P. George of Princeton teamed up with prominent Muslim intellectual Shaykh Hamza Yusuf in writing letters to the CEOs of major hotel chains asking them to consider removing hotel room pornography, noting its "degrading, dehumanizing" and objectifying nature.

Pornography policies in U.S. hotel chains vary. Omni Hotels and Resorts stopped selling pornography in 1998 because the CEO believed that it was wrong to sell it. Marriot has said it is "phasing out" pornography sales, while the Hilton chain had previously defended its continued sales.

In 2013, Nordic Hotels – a major Scandinavian hotel chain – announced that it was eliminating pay-per-view pornography channels from its 171 hotels.

"The porn industry contributes to trafficking, so I see it as a natural part of having a social responsibility to send out a clear signal that Nordic Hotels doesn't support or condone this," said Petter Stordalen, the owner of Nordic Hotels.

He said he decided to stop selling the material after he started to work with UNICEF's campaign to help the child victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation, who number over 1.2 million annually, the British newspaper The Guardian reported.

CNA contacted Hilton Worldwide about the reported change in policy, but did not receive a response by deadline.