Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by FPA and Brook

About FPA

FPA is one of the UK’s leading sexual health charities. Our mission is to help establish a society in which everyone has positive, informed and non-judgmental attitudes to sex and relationships; where everyone can make informed choices about sex and reproduction so that they can enjoy sexual health free from prejudice or harm.

We do this through providing a comprehensive sexual health information service for professionals and the public, running community based sex and relationships education programmes and campaigning to ensure that high quality sexual health information and services are available to all who need them.

To find out more about FPA and the work we do please visit our website: www.fpa.org.uk

About Brook

Brook is the UK’s leading provider of sexual health services and advice for young people under 25. Our mission is to ensure young people can enjoy their sexuality without harm. Brook services provide free and confidential sexual health information, contraception, pregnancy testing, advice and counselling, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and outreach and education work, reaching over 290,000 young people every year.

Brook believes that every young person in Britain deserves sex and relationships education (SRE) that is relevant to them, focuses on relationships as well as sex, honest about human sexuality and taught by professionals who are well prepared and confident. Sex and relationships are a life skill, as important to our future health and happiness as any other subject, and young people deserve to be heard.

To find out more about Brook visit: www.brook.org.uk.

Summary

Brook and FPA welcome the focus on protecting young people from harm. Young people are vulnerable from online environments in a number of ways, which are not just about access to pornography. These include grooming, bullying and exploitation, and it is important that this Inquiry does not seek to disproportionately focus on pornography in comparison to these other important areas of consideration. Certainly, we know that simply blocking internet content is not a cure-all, and the role of education in supporting young people’s safe navigation of the online environment is key. Therefore we strongly advise for the need to talk about education for young people and support for parents at the same time.

In particular, we would be concerned if actions resulting from a review of filtering meant that legitimate education websites were blocked as well.

In summary:

We welcome the focus on protecting young people from harm, however we know that blocking pornography at the source is not a cure all, and the role of education is key.

We would be concerned if the block meant that legitimate education websites were blocked as well.

Finding a way to protect and educate young people will require a solution that involves everyone—digital companies, government, parents, schools, communities and, crucially, young people themselves.

In particular, we are concerned about the absence of young people’s voices in this debate, and this response encompasses views from young people from across Brook’s national range of services. We would welcome further dialogue with young people from this Inquiry, which if required, Brook and FPA would be happy to help facilitate.

The Government should better support parents to help their children in navigating technology with which they are not familiar.

Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) guidance pre-dates recent and emerging issues on technology and safeguarding, with no reference to addressing on-line safety, “sexting” or pornography in SRE. Brook and FPA recommend that the Government should update SRE guidance for the modern era.

We recommend enacting a help/whistleblowing button on websites so that children can be immediately directed to reputable professional organisations and get advice about what they have seen.

The Government should implement policy which leads to pornography websites showing the consent and negotiation that leads to the sexual acts which are shown.

Brook’s Young People’s Response to this Inquiry

To inform this response, Brook asked groups of young people across the country to consider their views of the questions and themes raised in this Inquiry.

These groups included young people who identified as LGB and T (Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender), male, female and non-binary, BME (Black, Minority, Ethnic communities), experience of mental health, experience of homelessness, and as young offenders. A summary of their conclusions is provided here and a full copy of the report can be found in Annex A of this document.

Conclusions from Young People’s Response

“If young people want to access porn, out of arousal or curiosity, that’s perfectly healthy and typical. However, easy access to porn needs to be supplemented with good sex education and lessons about internet awareness and safety, as well as an open and non-judgemental societal attitude towards sex and sexuality.”

(anonymised quote from young people’s response)

The feedback from the young people shows that, broadly speaking, it is clear that young people need better, more inclusive education on internet safety, both for children and for parents, not least to ensure that knowledge, skills and understanding around online safety are embedded in the next generation. This would support a societal shift in the bullying culture which has developed around social media, without imposing enforced censorship which could inhibit young people’s ability to access accurate information about sex.

Compulsory education on internet safety, covering issues which include pornography and cyber bullying, would allow young people to explore and understand their developing sexuality whilst reducing any risk of harm.

Response to Questions

1. How best to protect minors from accessing adult content?

1.1 In order to protect minors from accessing adult content we must provide young people with the support, education, skills and understanding to ensure that they are not damaged by, pressured into or exploited through exposure to porn and that they are able to cope with the availability of pornography, on and offline.

1.2 However, Brook and FPA do not believe that it is possible or right to simply prevent young people accessing pornography. We make a clear distinction between child abuse and pornography, and indeed censorship and protection. We also welcome the focus of this Inquiry on protecting young people from harm and condemn all images of child abuse, which are illegal.

1.3 Brook’s research with groups of young people suggests:

While many young people have concerns about pornography and would like help and support dealing with it, we must talk about education for young people and support for parents at the same time.

From a sample of young people that we spoke to 28.6% said they have used porn to try to find out more about sex, which is typical of the conversations we have had with young people on this topic. We also know that young people would prefer to find out information on sex from other, more reliable sources (like school, or their parents) but that this is not always available to them.

Although the majority of young people did not think that porn was like real sex; many are concerned that it creates unrealistic views about relationships.

One indicative quote from this group said: “instead of stopping young people watching porn… the focus of the debate should be around teaching young people the differences between porn and reality”.

Only 2.1% of the sample group of young people we asked had never seen any porn.

58% of young people in our group had seen porn online by accident when they were looking for something else. This has an implication for how search engines help to filter “educational” vs “porn” materials through common search terms young people may use.

1.4 In terms of how young people would like to better deal with pornography they may see, Brook and FPA recommend an educational approach which helps young people to:

Understand the context of porn—ie it is not real life.

Respond to pressures in relationships as a result of it.

Find the information currently found in porn from someone/somewhere reliable.

Know how to resist pressure to watch.

Know what to do if they see it by accident.

Parents

1.5 Brook and FPA believe that parents should be better enabled and encouraged to take responsibility for supervising their children and setting appropriate safety settings, particularly if they have young children who may be vulnerable to seeing images that they might find distressing. The young people we spoke with pointed out that there are existing safety settings which are very good filters. They felt that if safety settings are used appropriately then young people would not come across adult content when searching for something else.

“We don’t need to create new filters, we just need to educate parents about how to use existing safety settings.” Young woman, 16.

“Educate the parents, who can in turn educate the children.” Young person, 18.

1.6 To enable parents to act accordingly, they suggested that education should be provided to parents so that they are able to understand and set parental controls. The young people that Brook spoke to all knew how to set controls themselves, describing the process as simple, and felt that with the right level of intervention and education from parents, there should be no reason why children should see adult content if they or their parents deem the material disturbing. They suggested developing leaflets, posters or training/workshops for parents, explaining how simple it is to set these controls.

“Educate parents on how young people access what they do and make it so that young people know that they can talk to their parents or someone they trust if they have seen something that makes them distressed.” Young person, 20

“Individual guidance by parents to ensure children don’t find this material. If a parent is present, even if they do find it, it can be explained properly, explained why it’s wrong and why not to go back to the site.” Young person, 18.

1.7 Parenting support programmes such as the FPA’s Speakeasy1 programme (see below) can help parents build up the knowledge and skills they need to enable them to discuss issues around sex, relationships and growing up with their children and teach them key skills in these areas. In turn, developing a stronger dialogue between parents and children can help build the confidence of the children to be more open with their parents about what they may have seen.

Speakeasy

1.8 Speakeasy2 is a FPA course for parents and carers to better enable them to engage with the children for which they are responsible, on often tricky issues surrounding sex and relationships. FPA knows that many parents and carers want to talk with their children about issues associated with growing up, including sex and relationships, but many are embarrassed or unsure about where to start and what to say.

1.9 FPA has developed the Speakeasy programme to enable parents and carers to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to have these sometimes difficult conversations. The community-based project runs over eight weeks and covers factual information including how to keep children and young people safe; the pressures young people may be under; and strategies for proactively starting discussions on growing up, sex and relationships. The course is accredited by the Open College Network, which gives parents the opportunity to receive credits for the work they do, which they can then apply in further learning or in employment.

1.10 Evaluations of the project have demonstrated the positive impact it has on parents’ knowledge, confidence and their relationships with their children. A Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis of the programme has estimated the total value of benefits to children and parents and to the state to be £21 million. The value to the state represents a return of £5.29 for every pound of public money invested in the project.

Sex and Relationships Education (SRE) and the role of schools

1.11 Brook and FPA believe that parents and carers play a crucial role in giving information and advice to children and young people about sex, relationships and growing up. However, although parents and carers absolutely have a role to play in protecting minors from accessing potentially damaging online material, according to the National Association of Head Teachers, 83% of parents also had sufficient confidence in schools’ ability to help their children understand the dangers specifically associated with pornography, and that they believed teachers were as important as parents in handling the issue. Just 13% thought it should be left to parents alone to educate children about pornography (NAHT survey, May 2013).3

1.12 Indeed, Brook and FPA strongly believe SRE must cover many issues relating to this Inquiry beyond porn, including sexting, making friends and relationships online, bullying, and safety in relationships.

1.13 In order to achieve this, Brook and FPA believe that the best strategy is a joint home-school programme between schools, parents and young people. We should also acknowledge that many parents, despite their best intentions, will still feel too awkward to have conversations about sex with their children. Furthermore, schools are widely regarded as an appropriate and impartial ground for such discussions.

1.14 This sentiment is supported by Brook’s discussion with young people who said that internet safety should be taught in school, including about how to set controls. Brook and FPA support the young people’s suggestion that educators could explain to children that there are images on the internet which may not be suitable, talk to them about what it means, and teach them how to avoid it. Furthermore, children should be taught that there are some things on the internet that they may find disturbing and that there are people they can talk to if they do see something that upsets them.

“I think education is more important than sheltering young people and just pretending they are not there, because they would no doubt find them anyway.” Young Person, 18.

“Better education in schools. Explain to them that those films are not real, and are actors.” Young person, 20.

“I think educating young people on the different types of images etc is also important to ensure that when they are faced with such things they know how to deal with them.” Young person, 23.

SRE and the prevention of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and domestic and sexual violence

1.15 In its May 2013 report into PSHE, Ofsted states that lack of age-appropriate sex and relationships education may leave young people vulnerable to inappropriate sexual behaviours and sexual exploitation, particularly if they are not taught the appropriate language, or have not developed the confidence to describe unwanted behaviours, or do not know who to go to for help.4

1.16 SRE can play a role in keeping children and young people safe. SRE aims to equip children and young people with language and skills to understand appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, be able to resist pressure and to know who to talk to and how to access help and support when they need it.

1.17 Specifically Brook and FPA believe that in the context of online safety, SRE could be used to teach young people as follows:

To manage situations where they are feeling pressured into sex, or to act in a sexual way.

To address sexual consent and sexual coercion.

What is acceptable and unacceptable in terms of sexual advances.

What is not only acceptable and unacceptable, but also legal and illegal in terms of “sexting” (the act of sending sexually explicit messages and/or photographs).

To be respectful, particularly in the context of widespread availability of pornography, which raises unrealistic expectations.

How unacceptable it is to engage in violence or abuse against women who refuse sex.

1.18 The backing for this is clear. In May 2013, a YouGov opinion poll found that 86% of UK adults believe that sex and relationships education “which addresses sexual consent and respectful relationships” should be compulsory in secondary schools.5

Fantasy vs Reality course6 and training resource7

1.18 FPA has developed a course and booklet which supports teachers to deliver a series of lessons exploring the influence and impact of the media, the internet and pornography on the sexual attitudes and behaviour of young people.

1.19 These resources help teachers to plan lessons on the very sensitive subject of the sexualisation of young people, including the role of pornography. It also provides objective, safe and creative ways to tackle the issue.

1.20 These resources meet official guidance for students at Key stages 3 and 4 with, and include different lesson plans and training options for each stage. The booklet also includes a CD-ROM with video clips, images and PowerPoint presentations suitable for use with Key stage 3 and 4 students, and was produced by the Brighton & Hove Healthy Schools Team and developed in partnership with PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic) education teachers with guidance from the Metropolitan police and FPA staff.

Relationships, Safety and Risks booklet8

1.21 Brook has developed a booklet, which offers insight, signposting and support around the everyday risks young people face as they navigate the worlds of social media, the internet and their own social lives; at home, in education, and when out and about.

1.22 The booklet gives an overview of a wide range of potential issues; including “sexting”, sexual bullying, pornography and unhealthy relationships. Crucially, it offers relevant information and tips for staying safe as well as details of where young people can go if they need help, support and advice.

1.23 Ask Brook about relationships, safety and risks is a brand new addition to the pocket-sized A6 Ask Brook booklet range. It is aimed at 14+ young people and an extremely useful tool to all professionals working with youth groups and young people.

Updating current Government guidance re SRE

1.24 Currently, maintained schools must have regard to the (as was) Department for Education and Employment’s, Sex and Relationship Education Guidance (2000). This guidance pre-dates the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the repeal of Section 28 of the Local Government Act and the 2010 Equalities legislation which includes the recommendation that schools teach gender equality and non-violent, respectful relationships between women and men. This current Government SRE guidance also pre-dates recent and emerging issues on technology and safeguarding, with no reference to addressing on-line safety, “sexting” or pornography in SRE.

1.25 Brook and FPA recommend that the Government should update SRE guidance for the modern era.

2. How best to filter out extremist material, including images of child abuse and material intended to promote terrorism or other acts of violence?

“When children start to hit puberty, then without places where they can talk about sex in a positive way (and not just mechanics) then they will go looking for potentially harmful images, and in the world we live in it is virtually impossible to censor those completely.” Young person, 18.

2.1 Any proposal to restrict young people’s access to extreme material online will be fraught with complication and difficult to implement. Filters must be sophisticated to allow for a range of factors (for example, households with children of different ages, and differing definitions of pornography). Part of supporting young people through education is ensuring they have access to good quality, factual information on sexual health online. Attempts to restrict young people’s access to pornography may inadvertently lead to the blocking of good quality education sites.

2.2 Although young people have told us that while they are concerned about pornography and would like help and support dealing with it, we must also acknowledge that a block can only go so far and as discussed in our response to Question 1, we should ensure we promote the need for education for young people and support for parents at the same time.

Defining “extremist”

2.3 Brook and FPA support the views of the young people interviewed by Brook and that it is important to give consideration to what is deemed “extremist”. They were clear that images of child abuse or bestiality should be banned, but some felt that censoring images of bondage, for example, is wrong because acts of bondage may be consensual. They were clear that there is a huge difference between sexual violence and consensual acts of bondage. There was also concern from young people who identify as LGB and T that some of the porn they can relate to might be labeled as “extremist” whereas in fact porn involving, for example, trans* individuals often reinforces their identity and sense of self, rather than being fetishistic.

Addressing the issue at the source

2.4 Some of the young people that Brook spoke with also felt that responsibility should be placed on the websites which host extreme materials. Rather than being an issue of filters, the issue should be addressed at the source.

“Surely the issue should be with the websites themselves existing, rather than blocking out young people’s free will to surf the web. We should be tackling the websites themselves, rather than blocking access to them...” Young person, 20.

“Make the promotion and creation of website such as these illegal and ensure that it’s an offence that the police take active force to enforce.” Young person, 23.

2.5 Furthermore, Brook and FPA would like to point out that although online pornography will almost always show consenting adults, it rarely shows that the consent leading to the actions being undertaken has been pre-discussed and negotiated. This leads to a perception that it is somehow acceptable to quickly engage in sexual acts that others may find extreme, without gaining the permission of all parties involved. Brook and FPA recommend that the perception of this needs to change, and the Government should implement policy which leads to pornography websites showing the consent and negotiation that leads to the sexual acts which are shown.

3. How best to prevent abusive or threatening comments on social media?

“Educating young people about how some people on the internet use anonymity and personas to try to hurt or control other people; and how to identify spaces in which they feel safe and unsafe so they can find spaces on the internet that suit them best. I would also foster a society in which people didn’t feel they needed to use the internet (or anything else) to dominate others, but that would take a while.” Young person, 24.

3.1 Brook and FPA concur with the views of the young people interviewed by Brook that cyber bullying should not be looked at in isolation, and that it is just one facet to the much wider issue of bullying generally. The solution is not as simple as increasing blocking or reporting options. What is really required is a societal shift in attitudes around respect and how we treat others. The media, in all its formats, has an important role to play in this shift, particularly in enforcing a message that there are no unhealthy sexual or societal norms that young people should feel that they should have to live up to with regards to their sexuality and sexual behaviour.

Helping young people to understand abusive and threatening behaviour

3.2 Further to our response to Question 1, Brook and FPA firmly believe that quality SRE as part of PSHE should encompass education that helps pupils understand why people bully, and to teach them to react in a way that is both responsible and appropriate to their individual circumstances.

“Teach the children to be understanding of the harsh semiotics of the internet, and how to be emotionally resilient and secure.” Young person, 18.

“You need to teach children to take advantage of the ability to block people on websites and use high privacy settings.” Young person, 18.

3.3 The young people that Brook spoke with also suggested targeting the bullies or potential bullies and increasing understanding of power dynamics through education.

“If you want to solve society’s problems, you need to start at the source.” Young person, 16.

“Education is key. Having the appropriate education at school will help people realise that being a keyboard warrior is not constructive.” Young person, 20.

3.4 As mentioned in our response to Question 1 under the “SRE and the prevention of sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and domestic and sexual violence” section, teaching about abuse has the potential to help both the perpetrators and potential victims of bullying and abuse. Brook and FPA strongly recommend the need for quality SRE as part of PSHE education to be fully implemented across all school settings.9

The need for a transparent internet culture

3.5 The young people that Brook spoke with, described some innovative ideas about having more transparent internet culture, where websites should have clear terms of reference, including whether the website allows free speech, which some people may find offensive. Where “free speech which some people may find offensive” is endorsed, users of these websites should therefore be prepared for the fact that others can say what they like; or whether it is a friendly and respectful community, where people will be removed if they post something that is offensive. The obvious benefit of implementing such a system is that young people would be enabled to exercise choice over what type of online community they choose to be part of.

3.6 The young people also highlighted the importance of social media sites developing smooth mechanisms to ensure that trolls are dealt with quickly and appropriately. One young person suggested that in addition to trolls being blocked from social media sites where they demonstrate abusive behaviour, large fines could also be introduced in order to reinforce the anti-bullying commitment.

“Introduction of a procedure allowing anonymous trolls/abusers to be reported to either the website administration or the police.” Young person, 18.

“Sufficient justice for trolls, better functioning ‘flagging’ on social media sites”. Young man, 20.

Whitleblowing button

3.7 In addition to the need to report trolls and bullies, some young people that Brook spoke with also felt that more could be done to support children who do find distressing or extremist images online, and one particularly helpful idea was to enact a help/whistleblowing button on websites so that children can be immediately directed to reputable professional organisations and get advice about what they have experienced.

“Have a number/email/button that they can get in contact with so that if the see something inappropriate they can tell someone with influence who can do the right thing and reassure the young person.” Young person, 20.

Annex A

YOUNG PEOPLE’S RESPONSE TO THE CULTURE, MEDIA AND SPORT INQUIRY INTO ONLINE SAFETY

Background

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee have decided to investigate a number of aspects of online safety that are currently raising concerns, in particular:

How best to protect minors from accessing adult content;

Filtering out extremist material, including images of child abuse and material intended to promote terrorism or other acts of violence;

Preventing abusive or threatening comments on social media.

Brook will be submitting a written response to the inquiry where we will pull together recent policy and lines on the issue. Young people’s views will form a key element of this response.

Method

In order to ensure that young people’s views were accurately represented in Brook’s response to the CMS inquiry, the Participation Lead created an online survey, which was promoted via our BeSexPositive social media channels, and asked groups of young people across the country to consider their views of the questions and themes raised in this Inquiry.

These groups included young people who identified as LGB and T (Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender), male, female and non-binary, BME (Black, Minority, Ethnic communities), experience of mental health, experience of homelessness, and as young offenders.

Findings

Question 1: Some internet sites, for example those that show graphic images of sexual violence, are usually considered as inappropriate for young people under the age of 18. What do you think are the best ways to protect children, or younger young people, from accessing images that they might find distressing?

The young people were really clear that there needs to be a distinction between protection and censorship. They felt it was important to recognise the fact that some young people will be purposefully seeking out porn for a variety of reasons, including being intrigued about sex.

They felt that parents need to take responsibility for supervising their children and setting appropriate safety settings if they have young children who may be vulnerable to seeing images that they might find distressing. The young people pointed out that there are existing safety settings which are very good filters. They felt that if safety settings are used appropriately then young people would not come across adult content when searching for something else.

“Educate the parents, who can in turn educate the children.” Young person, 18.

To enable parents to act accordingly, they suggested that education should be provided to parents so that they are able to understand and set parental controls. The young people we spoke to all knew how to do this themselves, describing the process as simple, and felt that there should be no reason why children should see adult content if they don’t want to.

“We don’t need to create new filters, we just need to educate parents about how to use existing safety settings.” Young woman, 16.

They suggested developing leaflets, posters or training/workshops for parents, explaining how simple it is to set these controls.

“I think to help keep children from accessing images which may cause distress, parents and carers need to take responsibility to discuss these subjects with their children and as well as the need to make sure these kind of sites are not accessible if they have children under 18.” Young person, 15.

They also felt strongly that young people should be taught about internet safety in school and taught how to set controls themselves. They suggested that educators could explain to children that there are image on the internet which may not be suitable, talk to them about what it means, and teach them how to avoid it. They thought that children should be taught that there are some things on the internet that they may find disturbing and that there are people they can talk to, if they do see something that upsets them.

“I think education is more important than sheltering young people and just pretending they are not there, because they would no doubt find them anyway.” Young Person, 18.

“Better education in schools. Explain to them that those films are not real, and are actors.” Young person, 20.

“Making young people and parents aware of how to block distressing images and educating children and younger young people about who to speak to if they come across something they find upsetting.” Young person, 24.

“Educate parents on how young people access what they do and make it so that young people know that they can talk to their parents or someone they trust if they have seen something that makes them distressed.” Young person, 20

“I think educating young people on the different types of images etc is also important to ensure that when they are faced with such things they know how to deal with them.” Young person, 23.

Some young people also gave suggestions about how safeguards could be improved to ensure that children are not able to access adult content.

“Require date of birth confirmation before entering, have captions preceding these images warning of graphic content.” Young person, 21.

“Ensuring that there’s better parental controls, rather than just having to click a button to say you are over the age, instead asking the parent to enter the password. I also think that there should be better control over sites use of pop-ups and advertising on other websites that are harmless and have nothing to do with porn.” Young person, 23.

Question 2: What ways do you think would be best to protect children and young people from extremist material, such as images of child abuse and sites that promote terrorism or other acts of violence?

First of all, the young people thought it was important to give consideration to what is considered extremist. They were clear that images of child abuse or bestiality should be banned, but some felt that censoring images of bondage, for example, is wrong because it may be consensual. They were clear that there is a huge difference between sexual violence and consensual acts of bondage. There was also concern from young people who identify as LGBT that porn that they can relate to might be labelled as “extremist” whereas in fact porn involving trans* individuals often reinforces their identity and sense of self, rather than being fetishistic.

Again, the young people highlighted the importance of open and honest discussion, and comprehensive education, to inform children of the dangers of accessing certain sites, and the importance of education for parents to enable them to have those potentially difficult discussions, whilst also learning about how to use appropriate parental controls.

“I believe [that the way] to truly protect children from extremist material... is [by having] positive shared discussion, with family, carers or teachers when possible, about the subjects.” Young person, 15.

“Individual guidance by parents to ensure children don’t find this material. If a parent is present, even if they do find it, it can be explained properly, explained why it’s wrong and why not to go back to the site.” Young person, 18.

Some of the young people also felt that responsibility should be placed on the websites which host extremist materials. Rather than being an issue of filters, the issue should be addressed at the source.

“Surely the issue should be with the websites themselves existing, rather than blocking out young people’s free will to surf the web. We should be tackling the websites themselves, rather than blocking access to them...” Young person, 20.

“Make the promotion and creation of website such as these illegal and ensure that it’s an offence that the police take active force to enforce.” Young person, 23.

Some young people also felt that more could be done to support children who do find distressing or extremist images on line.

“Have a number/email/button that they can get in contact with so that if the see something inappropriate they can tell someone with influence who can do the right thing and reassure the young person.” Young person, 20.

Question 3: What do you think are the best ways that young people can be kept safe from abusive or threatening comments on social media? If you were in charge, how would you deal with internet trolls?

There was a strong focus from young people that cyber bullying should not be looked at in isolation, and that it is just one facet to the much wider issue of bullying generally. They felt that the solution is not as simple as increasing blocking or reporting options, and that what is required is a societal shift in attitudes around respect and how we treat others.

They suggested that all children and young people should receive education about relationships so that they can understand bullying and why people bully.

“Teach the children to be understanding of the harsh semiotics of the internet, and how to be emotionally resilient and secure.” Young person, 18.

“You need to teach children to take advantage of the ability to block people on websites and use high privacy settings.” Young person, 18.

They suggested targeting the bullies or potential bullies and increasing understanding of power dynamics through education.

“If you want to solve society’s problems, you need to start at the source.” Young person, 16.

“Education is key. Having the appropriate education at school will help people realise that being a keyboard warrior is not constructive.” Young person, 20.

They also described some innovative ideas about having more transparent internet culture, where websites should have clear terms of reference, including whether the website allows free speech, and therefore people need to be prepared for the fact that others can say what they like; or whether it is a friendly and respectful community, where people will be removed if they post something that is offensive. Then young people would be enabled to exercise choice over what type of online community they choose to be part of.

“Educating young people about how some people on the internet use anonymity and personas to try to hurt or control other people; and how to identify spaces in which they feel safe and unsafe so they can find spaces on the internet that suit them best. I would also foster a society in which people didn’t feel they needed to use the internet (or anything else) to dominate others, but that would take a while.” Young person, 24.

They young people also highlighted the importance of social media sites developing smooth mechanisms to ensure that trolls are dealt with quickly and appropriately. One young person suggested that in addition to trolls being blocked from social media sites where they demonstrate abusive behaviour, they could also impose “large fines!” to reinforce the anti-bullying commitment.

“Introduction of a procedure allowing anonymous trolls/abusers to be reported to either the website administration or the police.” Young person, 18.

“Sufficient justice for trolls, better functioning ‘flagging’ on social media sites”. Young man, 20.

Question 4: The Government is worried that children and young people can find porn too easily. What do you think? And if you were Prime Minister what would you do?

“I believe if the Government feel the porn is too accessible and want to ensure young people don’t see it, they should improve the sex education in schools. As porn is usually viewed by young people who are not entirely sure or can’t understand sex, are intrigued to see what people do when they have sex (as this is not the kind of information we find out in sex education, we tend to only get the ‘mate and fertilisation’ and how to avoid becoming pregnant) especially LGBT youth. If I was prime minister I would insist more in depth sex education and awareness about LGBT sexual relationships.” Young person, 15.

“I think it is more to do with education, I accessed pornographic images from the age of 11 and this was a lot to do with my own questions about my body and sexuality, but I was never given any outlet or information about these images, it was just not talked about at all throughout education[...] When children start to hit puberty then without places where they can talk about sex in a positive way (and not just mechanics) then they will go looking for potentially harmful images, and in the world we live in it is virtually impossible to censor those completely.” Young person, 18.

“Mandatory relationship education that rolls on into sex education from a VERY young age.” Young person, 18.

“Porn is not always a negative thing. Masturbation feels good; I enjoy watching porn when I masturbate... who are the government to intervene? If the government continues to speak about porn in this way it’s steering us away from the goal of sex being more openly discussed in society. Look at the media...all of these over sexualised adverts and graphic scenes in films—blocking porn sites is a waste of time, instead they should be regulated; and young people should learn more about porn in schools.” Young person, 20.

“If young people want to access porn, out of arousal or curiosity, that’s perfectly healthy and typical. However, easy access to porn needs to be supplemented with good sex education and lessons about internet awareness and safety, as well as an open and non-judgemental societal attitude towards sex and sexuality.” Young person, 24.

“I think there is imagery that could be considered pornographic everywhere (advertising, newsagents, etc) I think that the focus should be on educating children and young people about sex and parents essentially doing their job of parenting.” Young person, 21.

“Enforce education. The sex ed bill hasn’t been updated since 2000, predating all internet issues. This would be a cause for outrage in any other subject.” Young man, 20.

“I would leave the porn industry as is. They already have age warnings on websites, many programs can be installed by parents that automatically block these websites (without infringing on adults and young people exploring their sexuality). Porn is labelled as 18+, but it’s undeniable that many teens watch porn and watch it safely. For many people it’s a major way of exploring their sexuality, being sexually satisfied and learning about themselves in a safe environment with no chance of disease and if they find a problem they just need to hit the close button.” Young person, 18.

“I think that it’s more important that young people receive better sex and relationship education in school to ensure that they are appropriately informed that porn is not reality and to help them understand what real sex and relationships look like.” Young person, 23.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that the young people we spoke to demand better, more inclusive education on internet safety, both for children and for parents, to ensure that knowledge, skills and understanding around online safety are embedded in the next generation. This would support a societal shift in the bullying culture which has developed around social media, without imposing enforced censorship which could inhibit young people’s ability to access accurate information about sex.

Compulsory education on internet safety, covering issues which include pornography and cyber bullying, would allow young people to explore and understand their developing sexuality whilst reducing any risk of harm.

September 2013