Call to make watching porn in public an offence

Watching pornography in public should be a criminal offence, a legal expert has said, after a Tory MP was disciplined for viewing porn in the House of Commons.

Baroness Helena Kennedy, a leading Barrister and life Peer, said there has been a dramatic rise in men viewing hardcore porn in public places, causing distress to women and girls.

In recent years, educators have warned of the prevalence of porn in schools, with regular reports of girls being pressured for sexual images, or forced to watch porn by male pupils.

Last year, schools' regulator Ofsted warned that sexual harassment has become "normalised" among school-aged children, saying porn was regularly cited as a motivator of bad behaviour by pupils.

CARE is calling for stricter regulation of pornographic content, including a requirement for porn sites to verify the age of visitors or face fines.

The UK Government has committed to introducing age verification via its Online Safety Bill. However, the details of what will be required are still unclear.

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