Webinars
As part of CEASE’s mission to expose and dismantle the cultural and commercial forces that drive sexual exploitation in the UK, we run bi-monthly webinars to educate and enlighten campaigners, policy makers, interested members of the public and those with lived experience of sexual exploitation. Topics range from cutting edge research publications and expert discussion forums, to cultural and commercial snapshots of the realities of a pornified society.
Catch up on past webinars below, and sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Eventbrite to attend future events. Live attendance includes Q&A sessions which are not recorded.
Empowering or dangerous? Can we believe what OnlyFans says about itself?
Speakers: Elly Hanson and Gemma Kelly
Date: February 11, 2025
More details
DISCLAIMER: TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES
Due to technical difficulties on the day, speakers were rushed for time. Supplemental materials will soon be available to give this topic the full time and attention it deserves.
OnlyFans says it is a digital entertainment platform.
OnlyFans says it empowers women to make money on their own terms.
OnlyFans says it keeps its ‘content creators’ safe.
But can we believe what OnlyFans says about itself?
Common myths about OnlyFans being a low-risk, convenient way for women to make money mask the reality hidden behind the paywall. Trafficked women and girls who are coerced into performing sexual acts are called ‘content creators’ and no meaningful consent checks are in place. The sharing of child sexual abuse material and image-based sexual abuse material (‘revenge porn’) is proven to occur on OnlyFans. Yet despite a number of lawsuits, the true extent of the abuses are hidden thanks to the nature of the paywall.
Join CEASE and Dr Elly Hanson, Clinical Psychologist and researcher, to discuss how OnlyFans is normalising the commodification of female bodies, confusing objectification for empowerment, and providing a platform that drives demand for human trafficking.
Is current prostitution legislation fit for purpose?
Speakers: Gemma Kelly and Nina Humphries
Date: October 30, 2024
More details
-
How to deter perpetrators and support victims of prostitution.
With convictions for prostitution offences at an all-time low, join CEASE and UK Feminista as they discuss whether the current legislation in England and Wales against commercial sexual exploitation is working, and if there is a better system that could be put in place to deter demand for prostitution and support victims.
Join Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for CEASE, and Nina Humphries, Acting Director of UK Feminista, as they bust culturally accepted myths around prostitution and discuss the need for progressive legislation to be implemented which would support victims, tackle the demand that drives commercial sexual exploitation and criminalise the pimping websites that facilitate and profit from prostitution.
Does mainstream pornography lead to child sexual offences?
Speakers: Gemma Kelly and Michael Sheath
Date: 2 Jul 2024
TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions of child sexual abuse, incest, rape, grooming and suicide.
More details
- Is mainstream pornographic content really normalising deviant and criminal behaviour?
- How does watching abuse-themed pornography online relate to committing online and/or offline child sexual abuse?
- Can viewing ever be neutral or is it part of a chain of abuse and exploitation?
Join Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for CEASE, and Michael Sheath, expert in working with men who commit child sexual offences, in discussing how viewing extreme pornography can lead some users down a path to committing child sexual offences.
—
Michael Sheath is an expert with almost four decades of experience working with offenders of child sexual abuse and training members of the criminal justice system in investigating online sexual offences against children.
In that time, he has seen the number of offenders rise significantly, and the profile of those offenders change. Men with no previous sexual interest in children are now being routinely investigated for viewing indecent images of children.
Why?
Through easily accessible extreme pornographic content, the cultural norms of viewers are being reshaped to accept deviant and criminal behaviour as legitimate, including incest-themed and ‘barely legal’ pornography. This can in turn lead to seeking out child sexual abuse material online or even offline sexually motivated crimes against children.
The only sustainable solution to this issue is to go to the source of the pornographic content that is shaping behaviour and attitudes. Reaching viewers before offending occurs and helping them recognise the role they are playing in the patterns of offending is key to protecting children.