‘THE DAYS OF BURYING OUR HEAD IN THE SAND ARE OVER’

Simon Harris transcript on children and pornography

I’M really pleased to hear you [the Rape Crisis Centre] raising the issue of learning about sex through porn. Because we have to awaken ourselves to the fact that that is now a reality that faces many young people, men in particular.

‘I was actually surprised to hear the figure in relation to ten and 13 – I must say I didn’t realise it was that young that so many of our children are accessing porn, and they are learning of a false reality.

‘They’re learning of an environment where sex is often violent, where it’s often domineering and where women are generally the subservient partners as well.

‘So technology can be a wonderful thing. But with advancements in technology does come great risk.

‘Being a parent in the modern world is frightening. What your child is accessing on the device in their pocket, or their iPhone or their television, or indeed their friend’s phone is something that I know worries everybody as a parent.

‘There is a new wave of sexual violence under way, and it’s one that may not take place face-toface. It may not take place in a physical form and it is one that is often hidden.

‘In many ways it’s harder to actually tackle, it’s harder to face, and it’s harder to fight.

‘This can be in the form of sexting, revenge porn, up-skirting, all of these things that we’re sadly becoming too familiar with. These leave scars beyond just those of a physical kind. And as a society we must wake up to that and this is something that we must address.

‘The days of burying our heads in the sand and doing nothing are over and as policy-makers we have significant responsibilities to help you in your work. ‘We must make ourselves uncomfortable by challenging ourselves on these issues, we must do better and as a result of doing better the country we live in would be better.