Porn in the digital woods: a driver of children abusing children?

At the University of East London there has been a research focus on child protection for many years. The university hosts the Policing Innovation, Enterprise and Learning Centre (PIEL), an international research centre. The recent report by The Guardian, based on data released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), brings to light a concerning trend: the data suggests that the majority of child sexual abuse offences are committed by other young people. The data shows that out of the 107,000 reported sexual offences, 52 per cent of the alleged perpetrators were themselves children, a notable increase from one third a decade earlier. Ian Critchley, the NPCC’s lead for child protection, suggests that this trend might be intensified by the easy access to violent pornography, particularly among boys.

Inside PIEL this report has generated much discussion about the relationship between online or digital activity and engaging in a criminal act. The violent video game debate took place within this space in previous years. In this current discussion a critical question arises: does the accessibility of pornographic content by children lead to a greater propensity for committing sexual offences?

Recent research

Supporting this viewpoint is anecdotal evidence from law enforcement professionals specialising in child protection. Chief Inspector Tony Gardner, who oversees investigations into online child sexual exploitation, states he has observed a marked increase in harm to children linked to online pornography over the past two years. He notes a troubling trend of children becoming desensitised due to early exposure to such material. John Marriott, one of the two authors of this article, would agree, his observation is formed from a decade-long experience in the Child Abuse Investigation Unit, where he observed an increase in reports of children sharing explicit images and committing serious sexual offences against other children.

Further evidence is provided in a research report commissioned by the Children’s Commissioner for England, Dame Rachel de Souza (Children’s Commissioner, 2023). The report which combines research from focus groups with teenagers aged between 13 and 19, and a survey of 1,000 young people aged between 16 and 21, makes uncomfortable reading. The findings show that exposure to pornography is extensive and normalised. Its use is not just confined to dedicated porn sites, as may have been the case in previous decades. Young people are most likely to be exposed to pornography via social media platforms, primarily X (formerly Twitter) but also Instagram, Snapchat and others. More specifically, 79 per cent had been exposed to violent pornography by the age of 18. Such content is described as depicting coercive, degrading or pain-inducing acts. This is “widespread and normalised – to the extent that children cannot ‘opt-out’” (Children’s Commissioner, 2023).

The Children’s Commissioner, in her foreword, makes clear that the report is an upsetting read. Children should experience natural development from childhood, through to adulthood, of exploring their own bodies and developing an understanding of sex and relationships. This has been subverted. Instead for many children and young people their experience is akin to flipping a light switch, in that they are suddenly encountering extreme sexual images and practices, which they often lack the maturity to comprehend and contextualise. The Children’s Commissioner puts it more succinctly by contrasting the ease of accessing extreme pornography, often depicting degradation, sexual coercion and violence, with the past generation’s relatively benign encounter with ‘top-shelf’ adult magazines. She underscores that these experiences are not comparable, highlighting a profound shift in the exposure to sexual content among today’s youth.

Previous generations may indeed have had their first exposure to pornography via print magazines. Paisak and Paasonen (2017) interviewed adults from the ‘baby boomer’ generation about their first exposure to pornography. Participants described first coming across hidden magazines in the domestic environment, as well the now cliche ‘porn found in the woods’. In a discussion on the harm this exposure caused, the researchers were led to question whether these were ‘hyperbolic concerns’. The authors highlight that prior research into this topic is inconclusive as to whether exposure to such adult content was harmful to their development into adulthood.

This forms a part of a long-standing discussion as to whether the discourse is beset by a prudish moral panic. It is sometimes proposed that fears of harm from new technology is actually an expression of a luddite mentality. However, the Children’s Commissioner specifically comments on exposure to more extreme pornography; the technology is simply a delivery mechanism with the content, the topic. Is this generation’s inadvertent first exposure, their ‘porn in the digital woods’, more harmful? The evidence suggests pornography is indeed more accessible, including far more extreme content. Perhaps a ‘digital plain’ would be a better analogy. The pornography of the woods was notionally hidden, while modern content is there openly for all to see.

A report by the Australian government, ‘The effects of pornography on children and young people’ (2017), identified many limitations to modern research methodologies. We may have some sympathy with researchers experiencing difficulty in navigating the ethical minefield of research into sexual topics involving children. This point was also made by Owens et al (2012) in their literature review that highlighted the lack of research on the effect of sexually explicit material on children in comparison with adults. Legal and ethical restrictions, while entirely appropriate, make it a difficult subject to explore.

Despite these difficulties, the Australian report notes a consistent suggestion in the research that exposure to pornography influences young people’s attitudes, beliefs and expectations relating to sex, gender roles and the appropriateness of sexual aggression. There is also a suspected impact on mental health. However, it is explicitly noted that due to the rapidly changing digital environment, there is little longitudinal research about long-term harms. Despite professional concerns, we cannot say categorically what might be true. This report also highlights the real topic of discussion; rather than pornography itself, the concern centres predominantly on attitudes towards girls and women.

The NPCC report sparking this discussion highlights the critical issue of whether children’s exposure to extreme pornography poses risks, such as the risk of children becoming victims of sexual offences, perpetrating such offences, or both. This can be exemplified by the variety of issues seen in the sharing of intimate images, which could exist on a spectrum from exploratory sexual behaviour between young people, to a critical method of control in grooming. Legally, all are criminal offences, although, of course, some would not pass the threshold test. The Crown Prosecution Service highlights that such cases should always be assessed on a case-by-case basis, so that professional judgement can be made on the delicate and difficult balance between safeguarding, prevention and criminalisation. The default position would not be to prosecute a person under 16, but some specific cases will result in that outcome. This could include a babysitter in a position of trust, or statutory rape.

The law

The Online Safety Act (2023), although controversial among some rights activists, appears to reflect the government’s attitude on this topic. Within the Act exists a duty for social media platforms to prevent exposure of children to inappropriate content. There is also a requirement to enforce age limits and use a method of age-checking more effective than the user ticking a box that they are over a certain age. While the debate rages on as to whether the Act will be effective (time will only tell us), this legislative movement is a tacit admission that these platforms are seen as the most likely method of stemming the tide.

We might ask if the current situation, with the immense freedom of information flow on the internet, represents a situation where the genie cannot fully be put back in the bottle. The NPCC report clearly suggests a substantial safeguarding concern to children, which the police seem to have limited power to address. The paramount importance of children’s safety is emphasised in both legislation and policy, notably the Children Act and the ‘Working Together’ framework.

It is also important to acknowledge that more considerations are at play than just legislation on this topic. While one of its main themes is the need for stricter regulation and robust age verification, the NPCC report concludes by acknowledging the need to improve education and media literacy at schools and of parents. If we were to accept the crux, that children are being exposed to extreme pornography and this has a direct relationship with victimisation and offending, there would still be a need to establish what would be appropriate, and effective, methods to mitigate the risk.

The role of the parents

In 2013, Helen Whittle, an academic from the University of Birmingham, and colleagues conducted a ‘review of young people’s vulnerabilities to online grooming’. Reviewing the available evidence, many factors associated with vulnerability to grooming appeared to apply similarly on and offline. There were possible protective and risk factors that appeared to relate purely to the cyber realm. Some related to the children themselves. Being an adolescent and more frequent access to the internet increased vulnerability. A decade later we might consider whether the ‘increased risk to adolescents’ was perhaps in fact a lack of internet access by younger children at that point.

However, a significant proposed risk factor was the behaviour of those children’s parents. Vulnerable children appeared more likely to have parents who had limited use (or understanding) of the internet, or parents who failed to monitor their activity online. The reverse was also linked as a protective factor. Parents with high levels of education, and those who had involvement with the internet, appeared less likely to have children vulnerable to grooming. Parents monitoring internet use, and their children being aware that this was the case, also represented a lower risk group.

The available data suggests online grooming is a smaller, although growing, section of the child sexual abuse and exploitation threat to children. However, we might consider if this positive parental behaviour might similarly guard against exposure to violent pornography.

There is also some positive news stemming from police data. The report highlights that there are fewer safeguarding referrals made outside of school term time, and at the weekend. A proportion of the increased reporting, during the working week, might relate to social services. Among policing professionals there have long been questions as to why social services do not work a shift pattern and provide a consistent service weeklong. A provision is available at the weekend, but this is seen as far more limited. However, the data showing changes during term time seems far more likely to be the result of the activity of teachers.

Conclusion

We could interpret increased reports during the school week as a sign safeguarding procedures are having a positive impact in identifying abuse. It has long been established that true levels of crime are higher than the proportion reported to the police. Upticks in reported crime might simply be that, rather than true increases in crime. There are many recent examples of historic abuse now coming to the fore. It should be celebrated if recent improvements mean that exploitation is identified at a time when something can be done to stop it. Better that abuse is prevented than offenders punished after the fact.

Whatever the case, it is critical that safeguarding remains the primary focus of child protection policy. The debate regarding the impact of online pornography on children’s understanding of consent and early sexual experiences goes on. It is critical that further research fills in the gaps in our understanding, to continue to inform the professional response to the challenge of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

John Marriott and Alex Paradise are both senior lecturers in policing at the University of East London
uel.ac.uk

John Marriot is a retired detective sergeant from Thames Valley Police who spent ten years working within the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub and Child Abuse Investigation Unit. Alex Paradise, while an investigator for Leicestershire Police, worked for a team focused on countering online grooming of children across the East Midlands region.