Sarah Gray, founder of the Love Matters programme, is supporting a national campaign launched by the NSPCC to raise awareness about the dangers of young people being exposed to pornography, and she is urging parents to speak to their children about what they have seen on the internet to help tackle the issue.
- The law banning revenge porn was passed in England and Wales on Thursday 12 February.
- Eight police forces across England and Wales kept data specifically relating to instances of revenge porn.
- Among those forces, 149 allegations of revenge porn were made between 1 January 2012 and 1 July 1014.
- Six of those allegations resulted in police action.
- Those found guilty of distributing revenge porn images in England and Wales could face up to two years in jail.
- Other jurisdictions that have specific revenge legislation include Israel, Brazil, France and the Philippines as well as several US states including Alaska, New Jersey, Colorado and Utah.[/breakout]
A UK poll has showed that nearly one in ten children aged 12 and 13 are worried that they are addicted to pornography and that one in five have been shocked or upset by pornographic images.
Of the 700 children in that age-group who took part in the poll, 12 per cent admitted to making or having been part of a sexually explicit video.
Ms Gray said she thought many Islanders would be shocked at the ages of children affected and that it was a misconception that pornography is primarily viewed by older teenagers.
And she said that parents were needed to support the work of her foundation Love Matters,which runs workshops to help Island youngsters to make healthy and positive choices about their lives and relationships.
‘Love Matters talks to young people about these issues in an appropriate way, but this should be followed up by parents at home,’ she said.
‘We need to normalise talk about pornography and sexting in our conversations with young people and make sure that it’s not embarrassing for everybody.
‘We have found that young people’s experiences of and attitudes towards pornography vary greatly.
‘Some are readily able to distinguish between what they have seen in pornography and what is reality.
‘However, for many others, pornography has a negative and harmful effect on their views of sex, sexual relationships and body image.
‘In our experience, even those young people who are able to distinguish between pornography and reality do not escape its harmful messages and pressures, as porn seems to widely influence the culture of teenage relationships and the expectations they have of each other today.’
