Yahoo Finance Almost half of young people assume women 'expect and enjoy' rough sex
Nearly half of young people believe women ‘expect or enjoy’ rough sex, a new study has revealed.
The study by the Children’s Commissioner for England also found that the average age at which children had first seen or watch porn is 13.
By age nine, 10% of respondents had been exposed to porn, rising to 27% by age 11. Almost half had witnessed porn by age 13.
“I truly believe that we will look back in 20 years and be shocked by the content to which children were exposed,” said Dame Rachel de Souza, England’s Children Commissioner, in a statement about the findings.
The study was made up of a demographically representative group of 1,000 16 - 21-year-olds, and further focus groups of teens aged 14 - 19.
Many of youngsters reported viewing ‘violent’ pornographic content, with 79% of the 18 - 21 group having seen videos which ‘depict coercive, degrading or pain-inducing sex acts’ before the age of 18 (the legal age to view porn).
The Commissioner said she is concerned with the normalisation of sexual violence through pornography, with the respondents telling her “in unequivocal terms, that harmful behaviour is directly influenced by violent pornography.”
The report found that: “Among respondents, 47% stated that girls ‘expect’ sex to involve physical aggression such as airway restriction or slapping, a further 42% stated that most girls ‘enjoy’ acts of sexual aggression.”
The report linked viewing pornography at a young age with an increased likelihood of having low-self esteem.
The findings come among increased scrutiny on what sort of content young men in particular are viewing online - and how this affects the way they think about women and relationships – following the arrest of influencer Andrew Tate for alleged sex trafficking.
The report also found that ‘opting-out’ of exposure to porn was not possible for many young people, as the content is often not contained to dedicated, adult sites. The majority said they had first seen pornographic videos and images on Twitter.
However, the majority of young people - 58% of boys and 42% of girls - reported seeking out pornography themselves, with one in three deliberately looking for content involving physical aggression, coercion and degradation.
In 2020, MPs moved to ban the 'rough sex' defence following the death of British backpacker Grace Millane. Grace's killer argued that she had died accidentally, as a result of choking during consensual sex, and used evidence that she had previously experimented with asphyxiation during sex to attempt to lessen his charges.
The Commissioner has made recommendations to MPs to include pornography as a ‘priority harm’ to children as they consider the Online Safety Bill, which is currently moving through Parliament.
The Government says the landmark bill would ‘make social media companies legally responsible for keeping children and young people safe online’. However, a House of Lords Committee called the bill “needlessly expansive”, saying it would undermine Ofcom’s powers as an independent regulator.
“It is crucial that we do not miss the opportunity the Online Safety Bill presents us with to make the internet safe for all children, today and in the future,” de Souza said about the bill. She also urged ‘every adult in a responsible position’ to “take seriously the views of young people contained within this report.”
“These findings show we cannot underestimate the sheer number of children of all ages that are being exposed to online pornography on a daily basis,” said Richard Collard, NSPCC Associate Head of Child Safety Online Policy in a comment.
“The negative and long-lasting impact this can have on children and their views on sex and healthy relationships is deeply worrying and it is essential that the Government implements strong measures in the Online Safety Bill to protect them from seeing this type of content.”
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