Earlier this month, revelations underage girls from high schools on the Mid North Coast were being targeted by an online pornography ring shocked and sickened parents, educators and students alike.
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The global site stole and posted thousands of graphic images of teenages from more than 70 Australian schools.
Regionally, the Bellingen Shire Courier-Sun understands, there were specific requests for photos of girls from Grafton, South Grafton and Mullumbimby high schools.
The site features teenage girls and young women fully nude and in many cases their name.
Users post the full name of a girl they are "hunting" and wait for other forum members to contribute images, "ratings" and information, often of a sexual nature.
Some images were sent by the females through photo messaging service Snapchat.
Victims said they had taken the photographs for private use or to send to their partners and they had no idea their images were being shared by strangers online.
While a police child exploitation team undertake an investigation into the porn ring, leading childrens’ advocacy group, Kids Helpline (KHL) has flagged its grave concerns about the “increased availability of pornography is having on young people”.
According to KHL CEO Tracy Adams, the 24/7 helpline often receives contacts from children and young people concerned about peer relationships, including coerced sexting and pornography.
“KHL counsellors all too often hear young people talk about threats and coercion in relation to ‘sexting’, that is the self-production or distribution of naked or semi naked images,” Ms Adams said.
“A report of KHL contacts between July and December 2015, revealed 95 were about sexting. Of these, 38 per cent discussed significant coercion associated with sexting and 83 per cent reporting significant concern were female.
“Perhaps most worrying is that the average age of those contacting us was only 13 years, suggesting the objectification of girls and women begins at a much earlier age than many imagined.
“It’s concerning that we may be creating a generation of young men, or women, that think this type of exploitation is okay.
“Pornography is now readily accessible and society has normalised it without necessarily considering the implications this is having on young children.”
Ms Adams said that Kids Helpline shared the Australian Psychological Society’s concern that the consumption of this type of pornography was most likely linked to violence against women.
“Research shows that mainstream pornography has changed,” she said.
“What used to be considered ‘hard core’ is now typical. It routinely shows aggression and disregards consent. It’s also available any time and anywhere via the internet.
“Objectification and violence are clearly both symptoms of a lack of respect of the personal rights of individuals to be safe from harm.
“If we are serious about doing something about behaviours that lead to exploitation and violence, the Australian community needs to work together to educate our children at an early age about what it means to respect each other.
“It is everyone’s responsibility to challenge the negative messages in sexualised media and the role it delegates for women.”
Kids Helpline recommends that community and educational awareness programs about sexuality and pornography be developed to promote:
Respectful relationship principles
- Skills development in children and young people that helps them critically analyse sexualised media and empowers them to challenge gender stereotypes
- Awareness of the risks associated with sexting
- Importance of the role of parents in establishing behavioural standards regarding online activities and behaviour
- Positive modelling by males about respectful relationships towards women
- Practical strategies which parents and carers can use to initiate positive conversations with their children regarding gender, sexuality and pornography.
Ms Adams also said governments also need to take responsibility by enforcing better controls around the inappropriate use of pornography.
“While it’s important to ensure that young people engaging in a consensual behaviour are not criminalised, more needs to be done to prosecute adults who distribute sexts without the consent of the originator and/or where there is intent to harass, intimidate or embarrass through non-consensual distribution,” she said.
“Harsh penalties should also be imposed on adults that intimidate children and young people into sexting behaviour.”
Tips and information for children and young people about respectful relationships and bullying can be found at www.kidshelpline.com.au
More information about pornography related contacts to KHL can be found at www.yourtown.com.au/insights/advocacy
KHL gives children and young people choices, support and someone to listen. It is Australia’s only national 24/7 counselling service specifically for children and young people aged 5 to 25 years – free call 1800 55 1800 or www.kidshelpline.com.au.
