The Independent Pornography Review has today published ‘Creating a safer World’ — a milestone report on the nature, prevalence and impact of often violent and misogynistic pornography. It recommends prioritising PSHE education that helps to protect children and young people from pornography and related harms, alongside better regulation and restrictions.
The review was commissioned in late 2023, and led by Baroness Gabby Bertin, whose report recommends a multi-level approach that calls for a ban on violent pornography (including that which shows strangulation and other violent practices), parity between how online and offline pornography is regulated and the importance of education, concluding that:
‘Robust education about the potential impacts of pornography — in the context of healthy relationships, consent, misogyny and media literacy — is a key first step in ensuring children can reflect on the impacts that pornography may have on their views and understanding of sex and relationships.’
The PSHE Association has long been deeply concerned about this issue. Our ‘research briefing for educators’ pulled together evidence on the impact of easily-accessible, violent and misogynistic pornography on children and young people, including how it can promote behaviours relating to sexual coercion and aggression. And the ‘Pornography & Human Futures’ report published via our research arm, Fully Human, by Dr Elly Hanson (and cited in ‘Creating a Safer World’) explored how the pornography industry shapes people's sexuality, self and values towards others' profit.
The ‘Creating a Safer World’ report finds that:
‘There is evidence on the positive impact such education can have, with research indicating that school-based sex education, (including lessons that discuss pornography), can have positive impacts on children and young people’.
There is also reference to the value of existing support available to schools, including PSHE Association guidance on addressing pornography through PSHE education, as well as the need to guarantee better age-appropriate education on this topic for all:
‘Above all else, the aim of teaching children and young people about the potential harms of pornography is to keep them safe and to ensure they have the right knowledge and skills to navigate this content should they see it’
Trained, confident PSHE education teachers are crucial to achieving this aim, so we welcome Baroness Bertin’s call on government to ensure more teachers can access the training they need:
‘I am inclined to encourage an approach where external organisations with expertise in the areas of sex and healthy relationships can provide guidance to teachers as a means to build their confidence and supplement teachers’ own lessons. This will likely require increased funding from government. However, it would clearly signal that up-skilling teachers on RSHE is a priority’.
On that note, we will be launching a new on-demand training service over the coming weeks which includes a session on how to teach about pornography and its risks (join our mailing list for launch updates).
Baroness Bertin also drew links between this and related RSHE areas, suggesting they need to be covered as part of a coherent curriculum:
‘Considering the impacts we are seeing from children viewing pornographic content, I believe the government must approach education on harmful pornography (in the broader context of healthy relationships, consent, misogyny and media literacy) as a preventative measure in reducing violence against women and girls, whilst avoiding a narrative that pornography consumption is the sole cause of harmful behaviour’.
The statutory relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) content included within the PSHE education curriculum allows schools to introduce this education in a timely, but age-appropriate way. This doesn’t introduce the concept of pornography during earlier key stages but lays the foundations that support safeguarding (including learning about respect and healthy relationships) before going into greater depth at secondary — at which point young people can learn about the signs of unsafe or abusive and non-consensual behaviours that may be inspired by violent pornographic content.
Most importantly, teaching should never minimise pornography’s risks or take a ‘both sides’ approach that normalises pornography (even unintentionally — for example through sharing viewing statistics) given the clearly evidenced harms for children and young people.