By Tilda Nilsson, Programmes and Administrative Officer
Another year has passed for CEASE, and as we reflect on the publication of our 2023-24 Annual Report, what a year it was.
After bidding a grateful goodbye to our first Chief Executive, Vanessa Morse, staff and trustees came together to deepen our roots and strengthen our operations ahead of the appointment of Dr Lucie Moore in September 2023.
Celebrations were in order after receiving the news in the summer of 2023 that the government had accepted our jointly proposed amendments on age verification to the Online Safety Bill. What is now the Online Safety Act, requires pornography websites and social media sites that host pornography to employ the most stringent forms of age verification to prevent children from accessing pornography.
Some of our other key achievements listed in our 2023-24 annual report include:
- Hosting events at the House of Lords to raise awareness amongst policy makers and parliamentarians of the harms of pornography.
- Meeting with the government’s independent Pornography Review team to feed into the UK-wide review of pornography regulation.
- Giving evidence at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood as well as the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Child Sexual Exploitation.
- Training Devon and Cornwall Police Force on pornography as a form of violence against women and girls.
- Publishing a polling report detailing the British public’s perceptions of pornography.
- Being able to hire and support our first intern, whose work over six months was a huge boon to the Policy and Public Affairs Team.
- Raising £20,000 in new donations.
In 2024-25, our policy focus is to ensure proper implementation of the Online Safety Act. We have also continued to contribute to the government’s pornography review and collaborated with experts to address the harms posed by OnlyFans and similar sites. We stay committed to working alongside our sector partners in various coalition work, including co-leading the Not For Sale campaign with UK Feminista which is calling for a progressive legal framework to combat commercial sexual exploitation in England and Wales.
From a communications standpoint, our focus is on understanding our audiences better to help our messages reach a new and broader demographic. We have also been running our webinar series to give supporters of CEASE and those interested in fighting sexual exploitation a chance to learn more and ask their questions to experts.
In the words of our chair and founder, Naomi Miles, “In this, CEASE’s fifth year, we have seen our years of campaigning come to fruition. The past year has been marked by landmark achievements and new growth. We have much to be grateful for, so much to be excited about.”
None of the work we do would be possible without the generous and vocal support of our donors and supporters – your contribution and amplification of the cause keeps us going. We are ready and excited to do more.
Thank you.