Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697633757003.pdf (Australia)
Harm IS being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the Interne Thank you for taking the time to read my submission.

By way of introduction, my name is Bridget.

I am a:  Wife  Mother  Counsellor (BA App.

Soc.

Sc.)

 Mental Health Worker (Cert IV Mental health non-clinical)  Addiction Recovery Worker (Live Free Tassie- Males 16-30yrs)  Youth Worker (Launch Youth- boys 13-20yrs homeless shelter)  Programme Coordinator of Family Life Ed.
(Sex Ed) educating over 10,000+ primary & secondary students- Private, Catholic, Independent & State schools (CatholicCare Tas.)

 Healthy Relationships & Sexuality Education Project Officer- Catholic Education Office In my private & personal experience, I have encountered a common theme related to the above symposium: "Porn found me, I didn't go looking for it."
We raise awareness in the community by education- It’s not about ‘if’ rather, ‘when’ children and young people will be exposed to explicit online content.

I believe that in our state/ country that it is illegal to show a pornographic image to a minor under the age of 17.

It is considered sexual abuse.

This exposure can be noted as either intentional: permission; or negligence: omission.
Perhaps, it could be considered a moral imperative that our leaders do everything in their power to respond with a moral and ethical obligation, otherwise be seen as negligent in such matters.

There are much materials regarding child exploitation, creation & distribution of child pornography such as laws..."Created to solve the problem of child sexual abuse, child pornography law...has grown dramatically in the past two decades, expanding and proliferating along with the underlying problem that it targets.
Yet, curiously, the law's expansion has not solved the problem, but only presided over its escalation."
- Amy Adler, Associate Professor, New York University School of Law, in "The Perverse Law Of Child Pornography", Columbia Law Review, March 2001http://libertus.net/censor/laws/celaws.html" What however is being done to protect the viewer, the child who lives in a digital age whereby filters, technical blocking, search result removals & induced self- censorship have all fallen terribly short of protecting our children from unwanted exposure to explicit materials??
1 | P a g e Harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the InternetSubmission 56 Harm IS being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the Interne I believe strongly through my grass roots working experience that more needs to be done at a backbone government level to protect our children's innocence.

What is being done at a government -mandated level?

Yes.
Yes.

I have done the research & there is much data containing reports & laws (the latter, rather outdated).

I could provide you with countless stories & anecdotes whereby pornography is directly related for:  Mental health problems  Addiction  Relationship breakdown (marriage & family)  Sexual assault (victim & perpetrator) I could provide you with additional materials/ links where perpetrators have matched their behaviours to pornographic content.

How do we protect our vulnerable?


 Children & minors  Adolescents  Intellectually impaired  Socially disadvantaged This reoccurring theme: "Porn found me, I didn't go looking for it" has grabbed my attention time and time again & I believe in a spirit of excellence & best possible practice, that we have not only a moral & ethical responsibility to act in a manner that is above reproach.

But there is a legal obligation to protect our vulnerable from potential harm....

I'm seeing it.
I'm seeing it.

How is the government responding?

Human rights law lays down obligations of Governments to act in certain ways to promote and protect human rights (A Magna Carta for all humanity) and fundamental freedoms of individuals (our children & youth) Article 13: Children have the right to get and to share information, as long as the information is not damaging to them or to others.
Article 19: Governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents, or anyone else who looks after them.

Article 33: Governments should provide ways of protecting children from dangerous drugs.

(PORN HAS BEEN CITED AS THE NEW DRUG, due to similar chemical receptivity as narcotics: highly addictive) Article 34: Governments should protect children from sexual abuse.
2 | P a g e Harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the InternetSubmission 56 Harm IS being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the Interne Article 36: Children should be protected from any activities that could harm their development.
Article 39: Children who have been neglected or abused should receive special help to restore their self-respect https://www.unicef.org.au/Discover/What-we-do/Convention-on-the-Rights-of-the- Child/childfriendlycrc.aspx If little can be done at a government backbone level (& I've seen what these kids can be exposed to), then what is the Australian government doing to address the problem of prevention, recovery and restorative practices after & during this moral melee of the pornification of culture???
 I have sat with young emerging men (youth) who have been removed from their home as a result of sexually abusing their sibling/s.

They have laughed, wept and fought their way through navigating such self- imposed trauma.

As a male gender; we’re suffering tragically!

 I have journeyed into long-suffering with girls, young and grown women who self- loathe, self- harm and have incredible levels of body shame.
Research says that after only 3 minutes of being exposed to hyper- sexualised ‘hot’ female images, that a girl’s anxiety goes up & self- esteem goes down.

As a female gender; we’re suffering tragically!

 The schools I visit; classrooms I address have countless struggles with online explicit materials.

From my perspective: it’s relentless!

 Perhaps education needs an overhaul to redirect our indulgent focus on injustice, greed and lust back on to the endearing character qualities of love and respect.
Hard-core pornography and soft core pornography (the doorway to it) is doing untold damage ….. Ted Bundy: Serial Killer.

Taken from final exclusive interview with James Dobson the night before his execution may have some incredibly chilling insights into the destructive damage that pornography can have on a person, “I was essentially a normal person.
People need to recognise that those of us who have been so influenced by violence in the media particularly pornographic violence are not some kinds of inherent monsters.

We are your sons and we are your husbands and we grew up in regular families.
Pornography can reach out and snatch a kid out of any house today….” 3 | P a g e Harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the InternetSubmission 56 Harm IS being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the Interne There’s no protection against the kinds of influences that are loose on our society that tolerates…” “I’ve met a lot of men who were motivated to commit violence just like me.
And without exception every one of them were deeply influenced and consumed by addiction to pornography.
The most common interest among serial killers is pornography.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMsombXSex4) Porn use directly linked to Human Trafficking: A21: Christine Caine: “The issue of human trafficking is the 21st Century Holocaust.”  Human trafficking: Educate about what is happening behind the porn ‘scenes’  “Demand ‘here’ is met by supply ‘there’”  “Traffickers send images over the internet.”  The demand of what is happening is fuelled by…US!
 “Sitting in your living room, you have got to connect what you’re doing with this global issue of trafficking.”  “We need to make adjustments in our own lives that will stop this demand for this global sex trade.” I welcome some feedback to this reply & understand that this is a health crisis on an individual basis (addiction and mental illness); a domestic and pop cultural issue (pornification of culture) and a global issue (humanity and social justice).
The Digital Age is still relatively young, but what will it look like in its maturity if we continue to relax the boundaries?

Our vulnerable are easy prey.

Let’s stand up in our own community and reclaim value for our women and children.

Let’s assist our male youth to reclaim masculinity as something of courage that we can stand up for something truly worth fighting for.

This is ‘our’ problem.

But the government CAN make a difference by tackling the issues head on as an urgent epidemic.
If we do nothing, are we silently agreeing?

I think this is an opportunity for the Australian Government to be noble and to do something very significant!

Bridget Tape 4 | P a g e Harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the InternetSubmission 56