By Gemma Kelly Head of Policy and Public Affairs for CEASE
CEASE welcomes the release of the Independent Pornography Review and the recommendations outlined by Lead Reviewer Baroness Bertin.
Baroness Bertin’s review has called time on the pornography industry’s blatant disregard for the harm that it causes to women and children in particular, as well as society as a whole.
Pornography shapes the sexual scripts of both adults and children, normalises violence against women and girls, grooms men and boys to perpetrate sexual violence, and has contributed to the rise in child-on-child sexual abuse.
Regular viewers of pornography can escalate to consuming more violent and deviant content, including child sexual abuse material. In some cases, viewers may go on to perpetrate further forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation both online and offline.
For too long the pornography industry has operated with impunity. This review is both a wakeup call, and an opportunity for the UK government to finally stand up to the pornography industry and introduce regulation that will help put an end to the harms of industrial scale exploitation.
CEASE has been campaigning for robust and meaningful regulation of the pornography industry for many years. We are pleased to see many of our own recommendations included in the review, and particularly welcome recommendations outlining:
- Harmful pornographic content, that is illegal to distribute in physical formats, should also be treated as illegal content on online platforms. This could be done either through a Safe Pornography Code in the Online Safety Act, or by creating a new publication offence. The aim of this would be to prohibit certain pornographic content online – including degrading, violent, and misogynistic content, as well as that which could encourage an interest in child sex abuse – just as it is prohibited in the ‘offline’ world, and mandate platforms to adopt specific safety-by-design measures.
- Non-fatal strangulation pornography (commonly known as ‘choking’ in pornography) should be illegal to possess, distribute, and publish.
- The non-consensual ‘taking’ and ‘making’ of intimate images – whether real or deepfake – should be made an offence.
- Urgent action should be taken to better understand the links and prevalence of human trafficking in pornography to guide future policy and law enforcement response on this issue.
- Companies that host pornographic content should have consistent safety protocols, processes, and safeguards in place to ensure that all ‘performers/creators’ are consenting adults, are of age (18+), and have not been exploited or coerced into creating content.
- There should be clear and standardised processes across the sector to enable performers and creators to withdraw consent and to have content they appear in removed from sites.
- ‘Nudification’ or ‘nudify’ apps should be banned.
- The mental and physical health impacts of pornography should be recognised and represented in existing health strategies.
Baroness Bertin has delivered a well thought through, workable regulatory regime that will hold the pornography industry to account and, in doing so, protect both children and adults from the destructive impact of pornography.
All that is left now is for the government to implement these recommendations. If the government is really committed to halving violence against women and girls within a decade – as they pledged – they will do so without delay.
Please write to your MP to urge them to call on the government to implement the recommendations as soon as possible and bring justice for survivors and freedom from sexual exploitation for future generations.