Children as young as 10 are being exposed to online pornography, which is affecting their ability to empathise and causing them to be sexually aggressive, a New South Wales Government report says. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
The state parliamentary inquiry found that pornography is easily accessed by children and young people online, with the average age of first exposure to pornography being 13 years old.
Harmful impacts also including poorer family and social relationships, addictive behaviours, and negative attitudes towards women.
It also found a “significant number” of young people were turning to pornography to fill gaps in their sexuality education.
Children and young people are showing reduced self-esteem, emotional stability and empathy, poorer family and social relationships, an increase in sexual aggression, compulsivity and addictive behaviours, and an increase in attitudes of sexual objectification towards women.
The committee was “shocked to learn of the correlation between problematic pornography use and problematic and harmful behaviour in children and young people, age 10 to 17 years, who access the NSW Health New Street Services,” the report states of a community service for 10-17 year olds with harmful sexual behaviours.
“The committee notes an apparent large unmet demand for services to support children and young people who have demonstrated problematic and harmful sexual behaviour.”
The report recommended the Government increase support services and resources for children and young people, and workforce development to equip mental health practitioners and teachers to work with them.
However, the report, published on October 17 on the NSW parliament website, found that pornography of itself is “not inherently harmful” as a form of adult entertainment.
It was published along with a dissenting statement by Liberal MP Susan Carter, who called it an “important report” but argued it lacked a more explicit statement about the harms of pornography and said it was disappointing that it called for parents to be engaged parents in children’s education about pornography “where appropriate”.
New South Wales is the first Australian state to hold an inquiry into the impacts of pornography on mental, emotional, and physical health.
The committee received 81 submissions, including from the Catholic Women’s League NSW, the Council of Catholic School Parents, and women’s advocacy organisation Collective Shout.
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“Significant number” of children harmed by early porn exposure: NSW report (By Marilyn Rodrigues, The Catholic Weekly)
