The law, which will take effect in 18 months’ time has
met with some controversy, with many criticising the ‘nanny state’ mentality at
play. Others feel that the lawmakers are naïve and that the ruling won’t
prevent those who want to access adult-only sites from doing so. I guess my
feeling is that any step towards restricting access to porn is a good one, but
that more can certainly be done.
Google search figures show that more people in the UK
visit adult-only sites than Facebook and Twitter put together. The data shows
that 8.5% of searches were for online pornography, while just 7.3% sought
access to social networking websites. Perhaps most worryingly, the study did
not include hits from mobile phones or searches for child pornography, which
tend to occur on secret networks that are often referred to as the ‘dark
internet’.
Meanwhile, another campaign is underway to criminalise
porn that appears to simulate rape. While some argue that consumers of
pornography are discerning enough to recognise the difference between
entertainment and real-life crime, others (like me) feel that rape does not
make for suitable entertainment content in any shape or form.
Fiona Elvines, operations co-ordinator at Rape Crisis South London, says: “We see the harm of rape pornography in the ways the
material assists in normalising offending for perpetrators, helping them
legitimise and strategise their crimes, as well as overcome internal
resistance.
“Evidence shows rapists use rape pornography as part
of their deliberate pre-offence preparation. The amended law will make this in
itself a crime; a significant step towards primary rape prevention through
giving legal grounds for intervening before a sexual offence is committed.”
Now I’m not suggesting that everyone who watches this
kind of material is about to go out and re-enact what they have seen, but why
watch it at all? I think it’s sad that this legislation is necessary, but it
certainly is necessary.
On a lighter note, some good news came in this week on
the lads’ mag front with The Co-operative forcing publishers to cover up
indecent images using modesty covers. Introduced in response to customer
feedback, it hopes the screens will prevent children from being confronted by
pictures of scantily clad women during the weekly shop. We hope other stores will
follow suit.
Child Eyes, a project that aims to restrict children’s
exposure to sexual and violent images, welcomes this decision. However, it recognises
that “there is still a lot of work to be done”. A statement from the
organisation says: “We need to keep the pressure up to rid the streets of
sexual imagery. There is no automatic filter in shops and supermarkets! We are
still working hard to make Britain more family-friendly and we need you.”
You can click here to sign a petition making it illegal to display pornography around children,
and follow @ChildEyesUK on Twitter for regular updates.
Finally, you can support Sorted magazine. Designed to reach out to men without using sexual
imagery, we are thrilled that anti-pornography measures are hitting the
headlines and that the general public is eager for protective measures to be
introduced.
We know that pornography isn’t going to go away, but we
believe that children should be shielded from it. We also believe women should
be respected and cherished rather than gawked at and objectified. Finally, we
believe men should be offered a better alternative; a magazine that is
entertaining but that deals with the real issues of life in an engaging and
practical way, for example.
We printed a whopping 40,000 copies of our July-August
issue and were able to give away a large proportion of these to many who might
not have picked it up otherwise. It would be great if you could support us by
buying a one-off copy for a friend, subscribing to the magazine yourself, advertising
your business within its pages or by making a donation.
Our September-October edition is about to go to print and
are excited about the impact it is going to have! Thanks for all your support.
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