How should we prevent sexual violence against young women?
'Pornography is warping the behaviour of boys against girls' says Allison Pearson in her Daily Telegraph feature (Thursday April 23rd 2015). Why is it only when mothers 'in the leafy heart of Hampshire' are facing the reality of the impact of pornography on their young daughters' lives that the mainstream press takes up this pervasive and deeply disturbing issue?
The feature highlights evidence of doctors having to treat girls under the age of consent with serious internal injuries caused by sexual activity for which their 'young and slight' bodies are 'not designed for'. And cites research demonstrating the sharp rise in the number of school girls at risk of emotional problems, caused by the increasing sexualisation of young women.
Rightly, the article calls first on parents to talk to their own children about the dangers of pornography for their sons and daughters. But to tell a boy 'despite what he sees on his laptop, there are some things you don't expect a girl to do' and to 'educate and embolden our daughters to fight back against pornography' is surely not enough. This evidently still assumes that their youngsters will be sexually active, just more restrained and able to say 'no' to abusive sexual behaviour.
These parents who want their children to be 'happy, well balanced sons and daughters who are capable of forming meaningful relationships' must teach them more than to play by some new respectful rules. Keeping sex for marriage is both right - God's perfect plan for relationships - and the only certain way to protect these young people from the physical and emotional traumas they are facing.
The full article by Allison Pearson can be found here:
