Pornography is becoming more accessible to young people and leading to distorted perceptions of sex, according to a researcher into young people's sexual health.
Last week, Mark Limmer, who is carrying out the research at Lancaster University, said that schools and youth services should be openly discussing the issue (CYP Now, 6-12 November 2008). But how can professionals do this in a responsible, and legal, way? And what do young people think?
The sexual health charity FPA has set up a course to help professionals who work with children and young people to discuss the issue of pornography with them. The course, Fantasy vs Reality, is thought to be the only one of its kind in the country.
Legal questions
Professionals attending the course range from teachers to youth workers to school nurses. Claire Fanstone, training manager at FPA, says: "The images people can access are so much worse than they used to be. We found so many issues around porn were coming up. Young people were asking questions and professionals felt they didn't know enough about the issues.
"We have had professionals wondering if they should report young people filming their friends having sexual activity and sending the films to their classmates. Many children are unaware that sending pornographic images can fall foul of the law. We realised there were lots of legal issues that people didn't know."
The course includes a talk from the chief inspector of Scotland Yard's Obscene Publications Unit, which is dedicated to tracking down people who make extreme and exploitative images and distribute them. "This gives people a clearer idea of what is obscene and what the police are interested in," says Fanstone (see box).
The course also shows the attendees still images of real porn so they can discuss how they feel about them. This part has to be done in a very careful way, she adds.
David Miles, who teaches personal, social and health education (PSHE) at a secondary school in Brighton, says he would like to see "guidelines for teachers on how to deal with the issue of pornography in an effective and sensitive way". He says: "I have talked about it with my sixth formers as it is definitely an issue that needs to be discussed."
Discussions in school
Joseph Doliczny, a 17-year-old college student in Swindon, also believes it would help young people if the issue was discussed in school. He says: "It is so easy to get hold of porn. It is even fairly easy to get hold of some pretty weird stuff.
"Teachers should definitely talk about it with older kids. Porn sends out messages that you don't need to know a person to have sex with them and there is nothing about relationships. It also shows women as just objects for men to have sex with."
A spokeswoman for the sexual health advisory service Brook agrees: "We as practitioners need to help young people reflect on the distance between pornography and the realities of everyday relationships."
John Bangs, head of education at the National Union of Teachers, says: "In light of major reviews on education, there is an opportunity to make space for PSHE in the school day. Here, questions of consent, respect and a person's right to control their own bodies can be discussed."
ROUGH GUIDE TO THE LAW AND PORNOGRAPHY
- It is to become illegal to look at images of "extreme porn". Under the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, criminal responsibility shifts from the producer to the consumer
- The law, which will come into force next year, means possession of sexually violent images will now be punishable by up to three years in jail. The material covered by the ban includes pornographic material that depicts necrophilia, bestiality or violence that is life-threatening or likely to result in serious injury to the anus, breasts or genitals
- The material to be covered by the ban is already illegal to publish and distribute in the UK under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 but can still be accessed in the UK from abroad via the internet
- Children who send images on mobile phones or via the internet of their classmates having sex are breaking the law
- According to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is illegal to take, make, permit to take, distribute, show, possess with intent to distribute and advertise indecent photographs of children under 18. This includes pseudo-photographs -computer-generated images based on actual photos
- Scotland Yard's Obscene Publications Unit is dedicated to tracking down people who make extreme and exploitative obscene images and distribute them through the internet, shops, mail order and distribution networks
- The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre works to eradicate the sexual abuse of children. It produces resources designed to help young people stay safe online. www.thinkuknow.co.uk.
