Independent Pornography Review – Baroness Benjamin.
Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what plans he has for the continuation of the independent pornography review.
Caroline Voaden: I applaud the new Government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls. In my previous role as the chief executive of Devon Rape Crisis, I learned how insidious widespread access to pornography among our children and young people is, and how damaging it is to both boys and girls. Could the Secretary of State assure me that the Department for Education will be involved in this...
Tonia Antoniazzi: ...exploitation—perpetrated primarily against women and girls—is bigger than ever before. Sex trafficking is the most profitable form of modern slavery in the world, while violent, misogynistic pornography is consumed on an unparalleled scale, mostly by men. This was not an accident, and it was not inevitable: we could and should have done so much more to protect women and girls. Instead,...
Victoria Atkins: ...also made it my priority to protect our children, who have been questioning their identity in ever increasing numbers. The Cass review laid bare the damaging effect that social media and degrading pornography have had on young people’s sense of self. It also set out clearly the need for extreme caution in medical interventions. Today, I want to set out my clear intention to introduce a...
Damian Hinds: ...to increase schools’ confidence to teach such subjects, including teacher training modules, non-statutory guidance, a train the trainer programme and teacher webinars on domestic violence, pornography and sexual exploitation. They are all available on a one-stop page for teachers on gov.uk. Of course, there is always more to do to help schools and we will look at that after the...
Baroness Twycross: ...the DfE ensure that teachers are not so scared of talking to children directly or responding directly to questions that the opportunity to protect children is missed? With half of children seeing pornography by the age of 13, if schools are teaching about online safety—including, presumably, online pornography—at an earlier age than they can teach about sex, how on earth will teachers...
Lilian Greenwood: The Children’s Commissioner has found that exposure to pornography is affecting children as young as eight— I am sure none of us would want that to be the case, but we have to deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. How will the Secretary of State support schools to manage pupils’ reactions to what they are seeing online—we know they are being exposed to things...
Jess Phillips: ...of adult exploitation in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. In 2015, a significant change was made through the Serious Crime Act, whereby “controlling a child prostitute or a child involved in pornography” was replaced with the term “sexual exploitation of a child”. Children who were once labelled prostitutes are recognised as being children who have been groomed and abused, and who are...
Saqib Bhatti: ...from, and they also set out the requirement for platforms to implement highly effective age assurance technology to prevent children from encountering harmful content on their services, including pornography, and content that depicts serious violence or promotes serious self-harm, suicide and eating disorders. Tackling suicide and self-harm material is a key objective of the Online Safety...
Damian Hinds: The hon. Member is of course right that the lead is taken by a different Department, but we are very conscious of the pressures, including from social media, in relation to pornography, deepfake and nudification, as she rightly identifies, and we are working right across Government to make sure those pressures can be eased.
Colin McGrath: ...sent explicit pictures or videos of things they did not want to see happens a lot or sometimes to them or their peers." By the age of 13, 50% of children across the UK have seen or regularly view pornography. I will run that one again, because I found it a bit shocking. If we do not show our children about appropriate relationships and provide healthy RSE, by age 13, 50% of children will...
...‘does not adequately explain’ the huge growth in young women being referred to gender services. She paints an alarming picture of digitally engaged young women who are frequently exposed to pornography involving violent, coercive, degrading and pain-inducing acts. Is it any wonder than more and more of them are looking for ways to opt out of becoming women? That is deeply troubling...
Alex Davies-Jones: ...with what is sadly an inevitable feature of our increasingly digitalised society. I really welcome the announcement from the Government today on making a new offence of the creation of deepfake pornography—I think it is long overdue—but it is as an amendment to a Criminal Justice Bill that has no confirmed date for its return to the House. We do have to wonder where the priority is. I...
Caroline Nokes: Dr Cass’s observations about violent and degrading pornography are chilling, and we know of the impact that is having not just on young girls but on all our young people. Her recommendations also include significant and specific references to expanded services and follow-through services for 17 to 25-year-olds. What concerns has my right hon. Friend about the capacity for that, and about...
Baroness Benjamin: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Viscount Camrose on 11 March (HL2719), whether, as a result of engagement between Aylo and XHamster, the Information Commissioner's Office was satisfied that these two websites are operating in full accordance with data protection law, including the Age Appropriate Design Code, and if not, what further regulatory action they...
George Howarth: ...at Preston Crown court, or to the Parole Board when Venables was released in 2001 and again in 2013? Who made those decisions? Secondly, Venables’s 2010 conviction for possession of extreme child pornography proves his sexual interest in children. Was that sexual interest in children missed by all the experts, or was it known? Thirdly, was proper consideration given to the attempted...
Nicholas Fletcher: ...for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Angiolini Inquiry Part 1 report, published in February 2024, when she plans to publish the findings of her Department's review entitled Pornography Regulation, Legislation and Enforcement, published on 11 January 2024; and whether that review will address the societal impact of violent and extreme pornography.
Baroness Benjamin: To ask His Majesty's Government how many pornographic websites have been the subject of (1) regulatory inquiries, or (2) formal investigations by the Information Commissioner’s Office, regarding their use of children’s personal data, on the basis that they are likely to be accessed by minors, since the Age Appropriate Design Code came into force in September 2020.
Lord Kamall: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any assessment of the government of Australia’s response to the Roadmap for Age Verification for online pornographic material in August 2023, specifically the decision not to mandate age verification for the time being; and whether there are lessons for UK policy in this area.
