Teenage Pregnancy Research Report - 3p Consulting

Young people, the internet and sexuality/pornographyis a Victorian community education project which seeksto respond to the social and personal implications ofincreasingly pervasive and hard-core pornography, andits impact on young peoples’ perceptions of men, womenand sexuality. 19The project grew out of Maree Crabbe’s work in sexualityeducation with young people in secondary schoolsand community settings, in which she noticed thatpornography was increasingly a source of sex educationfor young people.Maree who is an adolescent sexuality expert and hercolleague, David Corlett, developed the Reality & Riskproject. The project aims:• To develop and promote a critique of the messagesabout men, women and sex conveyed in mainstreampornography; and• To articulate a framework of sex and gender basedon an understanding of shared human dignity andrespect, using concepts such as communication,consent, and mutual pleasure.Stage 1 of the project initially included two components:1. To develop education resources for use in secondaryschools, including curriculum resources, audiovisualmaterials, teacher training and resources for parenteducation and policy development promoting criticalthinking about pornography; and2. To engage in public discourseabout the implications ofpornography consumption foryoung people, through productionof a documentary film for broadcast,written articles and speaking events.A 2006 study of Australian schoolsfound that 93% of males and 62% offemales had been exposed to internetpornography and the average age thatchildren first saw pornography was 11. 20Given the pervasiveness of technology inmodern Australia, it is almost impossiblefor young people to avoid pornography.In short, pornographic material isincredibly accessible to young peoplein 2013. In this way pornography isbecoming normalised, particularlyamongst young males. Researchshows that young males are morelikely than their female counterpartsto consume pornography, to use said pornography forsexual excitement and to initiate the consumption ofpornography. 21There is evidence to suggest that pornography is asignificant contributor to young teen’s knowledge aboutsex. Research has shown that pornography is the mostaccessible source of specific sexual information, such ashow to physically engage in the act, available to youngpeople. 2237