Pornographers should be funding “real” sex education in the nation’s schools, according to a controversial claim by former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
However the controversial proposal has been branded as “naïve” by critics, and is likely to alarm many parents who are already concerned about the explicit nature of sex education.
During a Radio 5 Live documentary about pornography last week the mother-of-two called for the “multi-million pound porn industry” to fund “real sex education” in schools.
Sex education
She also called upon pornographers to promote so-called safe-sex messages and invest in relationship counselling “for those who really can’t tell the fantasy from the reality.”
But David Turtle, spokesman for the radio and television watchdog Mediawatch UK, said: “The adult entertainment industry is only concerned about its profits.
“It’s naïve to think it is going to be effective in helping teenagers who are at risk from this material.
“If Ms Smith was so concerned about the issue, why didn’t she do more to deal with it when she was Home Secretary?”
Regulation
She also argued in favour of greater regulation saying: “You don’t have to be a nanny or a Chinese bureaucrat to want to restrict what can be seen on the internet.
“I’m pleased that government ministers are taking this seriously, but I wonder how long we can wait for voluntary action from internet service providers.”
Damaged
During her research for the show, entitled Porn Again, the mother-of-two visited a porn exhibition, watched hardcore pornography, spent time on an adult film set and talked to porn stars.
Last year a report revealed that watching pornography damages young people’s attitude to sex.
The report, which analysed many different studies on the effect of pornography on children, was published by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society.
Report author Dr Michael Flood cited a study showing that young people who view pornography are more likely than non-users to have had sexual intercourse, masturbated, had homosexual sex and one-night stands.
Abuse
His findings also show that, for boys in particular, the use of pornography may “encourage their participation in sexual abuse”.
Another “clear” conclusion was that “pornography can influence users’ attitudes towards and adoption of particular sexual behaviours”.
Watching pornography was also associated with adolescents learning to view women as sexual objects.
Dr Flood described correlations between young people’s frequent viewing of pornography and their view that sexual harassment is acceptable.