Guest post: “Big Porn is hurting our children.”

[JuliaMumsnet]

"Britain’s going to be the safest place in the world to be online, especially for children. Or at least that's what the UK Government hopes its ambitious Online Safety Bill will achieve.

The draft bill certainly prioritises the online safety of children, insisting that social media companies take on a “duty of care” towards their younger users.

However, dedicated pornography sites are not in scope of these landmark child protections. As a charity committed to the upstream prevention of sexual exploitation, we at CEASE are astounded that the commercial online porn industry doesn’t even get a mention in the draft Bill - in spite of its obvious unique and elevated risks and the mounting evidence of the industry’s complicity in sex trafficking and other criminal activity.

As our new report Expose Big Porn explains, porn sites are some of the biggest and most profitable websites in the world and yet, unlike other Big Tech industries, they’ve consistently managed to lurk in the shadows, avoiding scrutiny and accountability.

The fact is that Big Porn is hurting our children.

Firstly, porn sites give children free and easy access in order to make money. We keep children off betting sites and stop them from buying knives, cigarettes or alcohol either on or offline, but porn sites are wide open to anyone. These sites are perfectly capable of implementing some kind of age check and have been for years. Undoubtedly, maintaining zero barrier to entry supports their freemium business model, which depends on attracting as many users as possible. And perhaps these sites are not naive to the research that demonstrates children’s increased risk of porn addiction. Allowing kids onto free porn sites is equivalent to handing out free cigarettes outside the school gates. This is a future loyal customer base in the making.

While porn sites rake in profits, our children are shouldering the cost: in addition to the initial shock of exposure, research confirms that watching porn can also cause them profound psychological, social and emotional harms. It imprints twisted ideas about gender, sexuality, relationships, intimacy, sexual violence and gender equality onto their still developing minds.

Although the draft Online Safety Bill states that larger pornographic video-sharing platforms will require age verification, it seems obvious that this mandate should apply to all porn sites, regardless of their size and functionality. At very least, this will avoid leaving a wide-open loophole for the porn industry to exploit.

Secondly, mainstream popular porn sites are contaminated by unknown quantities of child sexual abuse material. This is the inevitable result of their business model which makes it easy for anyone to upload any content. Anonymous users can post videos of young-looking schoolgirls, babysitters and step-daughters. These instantaneously appear before a global audience of millions and, once they’re up, it’s almost impossible to get them back.

Many of these videos don’t actually depict children being coerced into sexual activity by their teachers, employers, coaches or family members; they’re young-looking adult women engaging in ‘role play’. But with no verification processes in place, there’s ultimately no way of knowing for sure. What we do know is that children are ending up on porn sites, and their lives are being devastated as a result. The ocean of role-play incest acts as camouflage for the real thing.

To protect our children from sexual exploitation and abuse, we must introduce legislation that will ensure porn sites either remove their video-sharing platform functionality or create robust verification processes to ensure that uploads only feature consenting adults.

And thirdly, porn sites normalise sexual violence against women and girls. The vast majority of porn represents harmful sexist stereotypes: men are sexually dominant and aggressive, whereas women are passive sex objects who exist to gratify men.

Online porn is having profound, real-world consequences. It’s incubating harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours in our boys, and pressurising our girls into acquiescing to sexual acts they find painful or humiliating for fear of being labelled as ‘prudes’. Ultimately, it’s driving the sexual violence that we’re learning is endemic in our schools and universities.

Recent research from Durham University highlights how one in eight titles shown to first-time users on the first page of mainstream porn sites describe some form of sexual violence (including incest, physical aggression, image-based sexual abuse and depictions of coercion and exploitation).

Not only does much of this ‘extreme’ pornography violate porn sites’ own terms and conditions, but it’s also is illegal in the UK. The industry won’t bother to clamp down on this popular and profitable content unless its hand is forced.

As parents, we must make our voices heard. We have the opportunity to ensure that the Online Safety Bill introduces robust regulation to protect our children from the online commercial porn industry. Take action today and write to your MP."

Note from CEASE: CEASE is keen to connect with people who have stories about the porn industry's impact on children. If you're a parent, teacher, a professional in a related sector, or a young adult who experienced porn as a child, and are willing to speak about your experience, feel free to contact Naomi on [email protected]. Thanks.

CEASE is on twitter here and their CEO Vanessa Morse is here. Naomi will be coming back onto the thread on Monday to answer your questions so get posting if you have any!

[Reallyimeanreally2022]

We keep children off betting sites and stop them from buying knives, cigarettes or alcohol either on or offline, but porn sites are wide open to anyone

Betting
Alcohol
Cigarettes
Knives

All illegal for children to purchase

Porn isn’t illegal

[Postmanpatsucksdick]

I have written to my MP. I think this guest post is very well written and raises some excellent points. We need to stop treating the Internet as though it's this wild west place where the law doesn't exist and it's pointless trying to enforce it.

[QuentinBunbury]

Betting
Alcohol
Cigarettes
Knives

All illegal for children to purchase

Porn isn’t illegal

Betting, alcohol, cigarettes and knives aren't illegal.

We just have legislation that makes it illegal for children to buy/do these things. And that wasn't always the case - it used to be fine for children to buy knives for example, or cigarettes.

I don't see why porn can't be treated the same. People who say porns legal therefore nothing can be done to protect against harms from porn make me

[facelessworrier]

100% agree

Porn has ruined men for generations, especially more so now it's so easily accessible in today's online culture and it terrifies me that my children could potentially access it.

[SparklingLime]

Thank you and @MNHQ for raising this hugely important issue.

[sleepingrabbits]

The link made it so easy, thank you. I think this is so important as a mum of a boy and also a girl. It will affect all relationships. We need to fight against misogyny and this is a major area of concern.

I can't say I'm aware that DH watches porn, but sometimes things seem a bit erm hmm, where did that come from? I think there needs to be a campaign about normalising normal sex #lovevanilla maybe not the best strap on line but you get the idea.

[Reallyimeanreally2022]

@QuentinBunbury

Betting
Alcohol
Cigarettes
Knives

All illegal for children to purchase

Porn isn’t illegal

Betting, alcohol, cigarettes and knives aren't illegal.

We just have legislation that makes it illegal for children to buy/do these things. And that wasn't always the case - it used to be fine for children to buy knives for example, or cigarettes.

I don't see why porn can't be treated the same. People who say porns legal therefore nothing can be done to protect against harms from porn make me

Yes

So the FIRST step is that porn needs to be made illegal for children under 16 to purchase on line.

THEN the websites implements the controls.

Betting shops etc don’t introduce these controls out of the kindness of their hearts. They do it because they HAVE to

[Avarua]

Thank you . I'm in the wrong country for emailing MPs. It's high time we did something about porn everywhere though.

[Adirondack]

I feel really disheartened that so few parents have engaged with this thread. I think it shows the majority of parents have their head in the sand over kids access to violent and misogynistic porn.

[MrsOvertonsWindow]

Thank you Naomi & CEASE UK. In addition to the very good points made above I wonder whether you might like to cast your eye over some of the resources produced for schools for Sex & Relationships Education by certain organisations. Many of them have self identified as 'experts' in sex ed for children (often with zero relevant qualifications). While I'm sure most of them are well meaning, their "sex positive, no kink shaming and porn is great' approaches leaves much to be desired in terms of age inappropriateness and regressive views towards women and girls. Hopefully the new DfE guidelines emphasising the need for age appropriate materials, safeguarding as a priority and for schools to exercise due diligence will help but schools are busy places and when someone tells you they're an expert.......
A quick google of the Proud Trust's dice game will demonstrate the problem.

I will also write to my MP - I do know that he is concerned about child . safeguarding

[starray]

@MrsOvertonsWindow

Thank you Naomi & CEASE UK. In addition to the very good points made above I wonder whether you might like to cast your eye over some of the resources produced for schools for Sex & Relationships Education by certain organisations. Many of them have self identified as 'experts' in sex ed for children (often with zero relevant qualifications). While I'm sure most of them are well meaning, their "sex positive, no kink shaming and porn is great' approaches leaves much to be desired in terms of age inappropriateness and regressive views towards women and girls. Hopefully the new DfE guidelines emphasising the need for age appropriate materials, safeguarding as a priority and for schools to exercise due diligence will help but schools are busy places and when someone tells you they're an expert.......
A quick google of the Proud Trust's dice game will demonstrate the problem.

I will also write to my MP - I do know that he is concerned about child . safeguarding

Do they actually use that dice game in schools?!!!

[starray]

It's totally inappropriate for children!

[starray]

It's worrying that so few people and parents seem bothered about this issue, as evidenced by the tepid response to this thread.

[Steppenwolfshit]

@starray

It's worrying that so few people and parents seem bothered about this issue, as evidenced by the tepid response to this thread.

I am also dismayed by the lack of response and support.
They will come to regret it later.

[Helpel]

Done! I still can't believe how much mainstream media focuses on social media platforms and the harm to children but barely scratches the surface on porn. It's shocking what our children can see with the touch of a button.

[opalescent]

@starray

It's worrying that so few people and parents seem bothered about this issue, as evidenced by the tepid response to this thread.

Totally agree. Anyone who wants to understand more about this issue, please seek out podcasts and articles featuring Dr Gail Dines. She is a British sociologist who works as a university professor in the states, and is passionate about this.

Free access to porn, and in particular, misogynistic, violent porn, is damaging our young girls and boys every day. Dines describes it as the the most significant (and invisible!) public health threat facing our younger generations.

[FrancescaContini]

I will also email my (awful) MP as well as forward the information to my DC's secondary school.

[JoyousAsOtters]

Thanks so much for this and that’s a great one-written email. Easy to add my own sentence to it too

[YouLando]

Thanks so much for this, I've just emailed my MP. It was so easy to do. This is such an important issue.

[Wondergirl100]

As others have said, it's sad that there is not more engagement here - this matters to EVERY PARENT. I think that unfortunately we as a society are too squeamish to engage on this issue.

Every parent should have a look at the main and most popular porn sites - your children ARE looking at these - even if you have blocks, they can get round them, their friends will show them porn on the bus etc - you are failing your children if you just assume you don't need to worry

When you look on the sites you will learn that a vast amount of the material is highly offensive, extreme, violent, abusive - that some of the most popular videos are of 'dads and step daughters' 'teens and older men' - this is taboo, depraved stuff in the mainstream.

We are allowing children to view this material before they have sex, damaging and warping their minds.

This is a public health crisis - and as with tobbaco we haven't yet realised how damaging it is - but we will wake up I do believe it.

[Threewheeler1]

Another thank you to Naomi and CEASE.
This worries me constantly.
We have to stop the rot, it is everywhere.

I'm lucky my 2 teenage DS still talk to me about what goes on at school & among their peers generally. No subject off limits & a lot of it is shocking.
I do believe porn & sexual exploitation is fueling a backwards trajectory in the treatment of women and girls - I've never known it to be so bad.
We have to keep talking about it and demanding action.

[Wondergirl100]

How would parents react if they learnt that some people down the street were letting their 14 year old watch them have sex? You'd call the police right? What about if they were letting your 14 year old watch them have violent sex, sex based on incest fantasies? You would call the police!

Yet the big porn companies are doing this day in day out.

[Menahari]

@Wondergirl100

How would parents react if they learnt that some people down the street were letting their 14 year old watch them have sex? You'd call the police right? What about if they were letting your 14 year old watch them have violent sex, sex based on incest fantasies? You would call the police!

Yet the big porn companies are doing this day in day out.

Swap 14yr old with ‘8yr old’. That’s the awful reality

[saltandherbsandnothingnice]

Thank you for this guest post and your work on this. Why do you think this issue has been forgotten in the bill? Is the Big Porn lobby strong in this country?

And if you have time - could you say a bit more about the impact of porn on children and the research about it? I saw porn on my cousin's laptop when I was about 13. It was hardcore and I was very sheltered. I think it traumatised me. I remember it went around and went my head and I found engaging with boys even harder afterwards and also developed a weird relationship with my body. All things that are normal with teenage girls to some extent but this, in my head, was a bit of a turning point for me I think. I remember thinking 'is this what I have to be like?'

Thanks again

[guinnessguzzler]

That sounds horrible @saltandherbs

Thanks to everyone at CEASE for your work on this. I would love to know of any examples of this kind of approach elsewhere in the world and the impact it had, if there are any.