One of my top priorities is making sure children are safe online. Last year, I was commissioned by Government to look at and understand children’s experiences of the online world.
What I have found is truly shocking.
Pornography exposure is widespread and normalised, with children as young as nine being exposed to it – often on popular social media sites including Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.
Children are being exposed to violent pornography – often before the age of 18. More than 1 in 3 young adults told us they actively seek out pornography depicting sexual violence, such as physical aggression, coercion and degradation.
And let me be clear, the online pornography that our children are seeing is not equivalent to a ‘top shelf’ magazine, the likes of which my generation accessed in their youth. Depictions of degradation, sexual coercion, aggression, and exploitation are commonplace and disproportionately targeted against teenage girls.
Is it any wonder that so many girls report increasing levels of unhappiness and low self-esteem?
I am deeply concerned about the normalisation of sexual violence in online pornography, and the role this plays in shaping children’s understanding of sex and relationships.
Evidence suggests that girls are significantly more likely to experience a violent sex act than boys, with nearly half of young people we surveyed assuming that girls expect or enjoy sex which involves physical aggression.
We urgently need to do more to protect children from the harms of online pornography. There’s no doubt that exposure to pornography, particularly at a young age, is having a massive impact on children’s self-esteem, attitudes to sex, and their relationships. It is no longer about simply viewing this content.
Clearly, it is shaping attitudes of what is ‘normal’ and healthy.
I urge every adult in a responsible position – whether politician or policymaker, parents or teacher – to listen and take seriously the views of young people contained in my report. It does not make for easy reading, but nor should it. It is crucial that we do not shy away from this opportunity to make the internet safe for all children, today and in the future.
Dame Rachel de Souza is the Children’s Commissioner.
