Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697634219202.pdf (Australia)
Submission for the Inquiry into the harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the Internet In my work as an educator, I see first-hand the ubiquity of Internet-enabled devices amongst young people.

I see the casual ease with which pornography and inappropriate material is shared – not just via file-sharing and web-browsing, but with the simple act of handing a mobile device from one person to another.
The percentage of students, as young as eleven years old, with whom I’ve worked who admit to having viewed pornography is staggering.

Many report they were first shown by an older sibling or friend.

In the past, before the Internet age, natural curiosity led young students to look up “rude” words in the dictionary, to read encyclopaedia, to read “Where Did I Come From?” and to ask friends and parents age-appropriate questions.
Today, early-Primary aged students perform innocuous online searches, driven by that same normal curiosity.

Within a few clicks, though, those young people are viewing extremely distressing pornographic content.

The “jump” from pictures of body parts, or definitions of “rude” words to degrading pornography is no jump at all online.
The ease of access, the ease of distribution, and the lack of any meaningful “jump” in terms of the type of content available (from “soft-core” to “hard-core”), cause me great concern as an educator.

More than that, though, it is as father that I am most concerned.

I have three young sons.

I do not know what will be shown to my school-aged son on a bus, in the playground, at a play-date, at a sleep-over.
I can teach my children about respect, about care, about all that is tender and wonderful about human relationships, but I cannot protect my 5 year-old from the risk of viewing damaging content if a 13 year-old with an iPhone happens to think it funny to show the “young kids” something spiteful, violent, aggressive and pornographic.

And make no mistake, much of the pornography accessible online is hateful and degrading.
I note that other submissions to this Inquiry have given scientific insight into the effects that viewing such content has on young minds.

The idea that protecting children from pornographic material is solely a parents’ responsibility is nonsensical.

It cannot work in reality – the ubiquity of access and the fast-track to truly damaging content is just too real.

It must be a society’s responsibility.


For children to be safeguarded more Harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the InternetSubmission 117 effectively from pornography, Internet Service Providers must be required to provide porn-free access to the Internet to the best of their ability.

The current status quo is that we throw children into the adults’ world, expecting them to “opt-out”.

This is patently wrong-headed – children are not equipped for such action.
Let’s make adults “opt- in” to “adult” material.

It will not save every child from damaging access to pornographic content, but it’s a great start.

Harm being done to Australian children through access to pornography on the InternetSubmission 117