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Last week, a 13-year-old Irish boy, who had been viewing porn since he was 11, was sentenced to 18 months detention for a horrific sexual attack on a teenage girl.

The case raises critical concerns about the damaging effects of unrestricted access to explicit content on the internet. Parents, health and education leaders, judges and MPs have to speak up about this issue to prevent further harm to our children. It’s a growing threat, and the subject is challenging and uncomfortable.

Teenage behaviour is being increasingly influenced by porn.Credit: Matt Davidson

Its sheer growth – we’re talking billions of downloads – is hard to fathom. If, like most parents, you have never seen the content, you will be alarmed when you do. A 2020 report found that almost half of our boys have seen porn by age 13.

You cannot begin to fight this scourge until you know the enemy. Don’t just hope they’ll grow out of it. This is no longer the VHS video or a naked centrefold. This has the potential to impact – to ruin – entire lives.

Through platforms and apps and any device, children today have unprecedented access to explicit material that can have a lasting impact on their developing minds.

The allure of sex and porn to teenagers is undeniable, but the normalisation of often violent and degrading content poses significant dangers. Just as we openly discuss the risks of vaping and alcohol with our children, we can’t avoid addressing the harms of early exposure to porn. It is a form of abuse that can traumatise and ensnare our youth, jeopardising their emotional wellbeing and future relationships.

Concerning the 13-year-old boy mentioned earlier, the judge in Ireland rightly expressed shock at the availability of such explicit material to vulnerable and impressionable young people. It is beyond disconcerting that companies profit from selling pornographic material while our children bear the consequences. We must acknowledge the need for stricter regulations and greater accountability to prevent the widespread availability of harmful material to children. It is time for public figures to speak candidly and truthfully about this issue, providing leadership without bias.

NSW president of the Children’s Court Nell Skinner has seen the worst of it. “Offending is a behaviour that can be addressed in the justice system, education system, health system, welfare system or in the community. It is best addressed in the community, supported by all those other systems. It’s only going to work if everyone works together – from prevention through to cure,” she told me. Skinner says we need to review our existing responses to adverse behaviours and have the flexibility to identify more effective responses to adverse behaviours. Justice responses, Skinner says, should be a last resort.

As parents, we have the 24/7 responsibility of being the first responders in protecting our children. Schools and community organisations play a vital role in educating both children and adults about the dangers of pornography and providing tools to navigate the digital world safely.

If technology is facilitating the distribution of explicit content, we can also employ it to limit children’s access to such material. I recognise that some interest groups may oppose restrictions due to concerns about privacy, but safeguarding our children should take precedence and none of these groups are proposing alternative safeguards. Implementing age verification systems and monitoring the distribution of adult content can lower the risks and protect vulnerable young minds.

Some argue age estimation technologies, which provide an approximate age, are sufficient to allow or deny access to age-restricted online content or services. But age verification (AV) – such as the use of physical or digital government identity documents — is a much more accurate method of ID’ing someone. Roblox, Instagram and Yubo are trialling AV right now.

In cases where children have already been exposed to explicit content or have engaged in harmful behaviours, we need robust support systems to aid their recovery. But establishing an integrated safety net to catch and support these children is imperative. We must invest in mental health services and trauma-based psychological support to unscramble their minds and prevent further harm.

Addressing the influence of pornography on children and young people requires collaborative and courageous leadership. Talk about it. In the staffroom. In the boardroom. In parliament.

This is not a partisan or religious issue; it is a matter that transcends class and gender. School leaders, healthcare professionals, private organisations and the community at large must strengthen the arm of policymakers and legislators.

While interest groups are arguing about the impact to adults of restricting porn for kids, children are being changed and harmed. Politicians need to be doing what they can right now to solve this.

Immediate and profound action is necessary to shield the next generation from the perils of unwitting sexual socialisation. Failing to act decisively on the issue of online pornography will perpetuate the cycle of harm and undermine the wellbeing of future generations. It is our moral obligation to protect our children from the damaging effects of explicit content.

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