Inquiry on porn underlines need for comprehensive action—CARE

CARE has urged the government to introduce tough new measures on internet pornography as a parliamentary inquiry warns explicit content is fuelling sexual violence in the offline world.

Today, a report by a cross-party group of MPs urges action on porn to help end an “epidemic” of male violence against women and girls. The APPG on Commercial Sexual Exploitation calls for the government to:

• Make the regulation of pornography consistent across different online platforms, and between the online and offline spheres.
• Criminalise the supply of pornography online to children, and legally require age verification for accessing pornography online.
• Address pornography as commercial sexual exploitation, and a form of violence against women, in legislation and policy.
• Legally require online platforms to verify that every individual featured in pornographic content is an adult and gave permission
• Give individuals who feature in pornographic material the legal right to withdraw their consent to material in which they feature
• Hold exploiters to account by making it a criminal offence to enable or profit from the commercial sexual exploitation of others.
• Conduct a comprehensive review of laws on pornography and obscenity.

Louise Davies, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the charity CARE, which campaigns for better online safety, said UK ministers must use online safety proposals before parliament to implement these recommendations:

“The parliamentary inquiry into pornography provides damning evidence that current laws are both failing to protect vulnerable women and children from the predatory porn industry, and enabling the spread of vile, misogynistic material. It’s time for the government to act.

"We know that children as young as nine are stumbling upon highly inappropriate sexual content. Proper age checks are needed on pornographic sites to provide some protection to the youngest kids who unwittingly come across X-rated content on computers, tablets, and mobiles.

"It’s also vital to ensure that safeguards are in place on the other side of the camera. Research shows that many individuals appearing in porn videos on major sites have not been verified as over 18 or given their express consent for sexual content involving them to be shared.

"The distressing effects of so-called ‘revenge porn’ on women are regularly highlighted in the media. Lives are devastated by this, yet the current situation means a website that shares videos or images of a victim to millions of men around the globe escapes punishment.

"At CARE, we believe the executives of porn sites should be held liable for their actions. If they are allowing footage of underage people or people filmed without consent to be shared on their platform, they should face legal action. Ministers must ensure sites that don’t comply are blocked.

"We also believe there should be equal protection for people offline and online. At present, a person found with shocking pornography involving sexual violence or underage sex on their devices can be prosecuted. Porn sites evade consequences for holding exactly the same material.

"The time for action is now through the Online Safety Bill currently before parliament. MPs must consider amendments brought forward by our charity and others to see the vulnerable better protected from porn.”

CARE has called for five changes to the Online Safety Bill to ensure children and young people are better protected from porn.

1. A clear definition of pornography as harmful content in the bill.

2. Robust age verification measures to enhance child protections

3. Age checks on porn sites within 6 months of a new law

4. The consent and age of people in porn videos verified by sites

5. Prohibited material dealt with online as it is offline

ENDS

Notes for Editors

CARE provides analysis of social policy from a Christian perspective. It has campaigned for modern slavery protections over the last decade, and spearheaded warnings about a trafficking risk to Ukrainian refugees last year.

For more information or to request an interview, contact: press@care.org.uk