Jesuit Social Services welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Inquiry into the impacts of harmful pornography on mental emotional and physical health, led by the NSW Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Issues.
Jesuit Social Services shares the NSW Parliament’s concern about the impacts of harmful pornography, which we have observed first-hand through our program delivery and research related to the prevention of violence and abuse. We are particularly concerned about the inter-relationships between pornography use, the normalisation of violence, harmful sexual attitudes and behaviours; and their relationship to child sexual abuse material.
Our submission focuses specifically on:
- Understanding the relationship between men’s exposure to violent pornography and attitudes and behaviours which are harmful towards women and girls (e.g. building on our Man Box research).
- Addressing the impact of exposure to harmful pornography on children and young people, including through media/pornography literacy in schools, and places where young people can access help.
- Initiatives which address the prevalence of child sexual offending behaviour and its relationship to pornography use, including Stop It Now!
- Opportunities to use technology to disrupt and deter the impacts of harmful pornography, including deterrence campaigns.
