The report, published today, examined how ‘legal but harmful’ pornographic films can ‘influence’ sexual behaviours, such as domestic violence and mental health.
Author Baroness Gabrielle Bertin urged government ministers to give Ofcom, the media regulator, new powers to police porn websites.
The recommendation is one of 32 made by the Tory peer commissioned by the former prime minister Rishi Sunak to scrutinise the industry in 2023.
‘We must now consider the concern and harms surrounding the consumption of violent and misogynistic pornography,’ she wrote.
‘To me, there is clear evidence that pornography, especially thatwhich promotes violent and misogynistic ideals, plays a part in influencing sexual behaviours and attitudes towards women and girls.’
The report recommends that possessing or publishing porn that shows women being choked during sex be illegal, material that Baroness Bertin said is ‘rife on mainstream platforms’.
The prevalence of choking porn has normalised violence in real life, and if the material were published offline, it would be banned by regulators.
Choking porn, the baroness stressed, tends to show non-fatal strangulation; choking refers to an internal blockage of the airway, such as from food.
Non-fatal strangulation is a well-known precursor to murder, particularly femicide. A victim of such an attack is seven times more likely to become the victim of an attempted murder by the same perpetrator.
Engaging in ‘choking’ sex without consent was criminalised under the 2021 Domestic Abuse Act.
Nuance is key to policy that relates to limiting pornography, the baroness added. Of the around four in 10 women strangled during intercourse, nearly half wanted to be choked, the BBC found, capturing the need to balance ‘freedom of sexual expression’ with safety.
‘There is also worryingly, evidence to suggest children are now partaking in sexual strangulation and note pornography a potential influence of this,’ the baroness adds.
One study found that 13% of sexually active girls aged between 14 and 17 have been choked. While the report heard that a 14-year-old boy asked his teacher how to choke girls during sex.
Baroness Bertin said that pornography that shows coercion and exploitation is ‘concerning’ and ‘should not be permitted, especially given that clips often include the words ‘very young’, ‘schoolgirl’ and ‘crying’ in their titles.
Other keywords that academics say are found include ‘helpless’ and ‘chloroform’, an agent that when inhaled can make a person unconscious.
‘Age-play’, a kink within the BDSM community, is when consenting adults engage in a role play where one is substantially younger, sometimes a child, was another type of porn highlighted in the report.
The review states that research on whether age-play pornography could encourage a ‘genuine interest in child-sex abuse’ is patchy, though police officials and child safety advocates said they have ‘concerns’.
‘Despite age-play pornography very often featuring consenting adults there is undoubtedly the potential for harm to the viewer,’ Baroness Bertin said.
Other harmful pornography includes ‘teen’ porn. The review found evidence that pornography platforms are not age-checking and consent-checking performers, raising fears that performers in ‘teen’ porn may be minors.
The analysis found that movies under this category sometimes implied the teenager’s age to be younger than 18, which the review said it could ‘encourage an interest in sexually abusive activity’.
Offline, this content would never be given the green light by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), the film and video content regulator, the peer said, adding that a similar level of restriction should apply to online content.
Content that describes ‘image-based sexual abuse’, sometimes called revenge porn, and incest porn should be restricted.
As should pornography that fetishes marginalised groups, the review recommended.
Nearly every part of a person’s body – and their life – has a searchable tag on porn websites, the review said. From a woman’s hair colour and her profession to a man’s race.
Such content often plays into tired stereotypes of women and people of colour, the review found, such as Black men being far more aggressive than white people. The review also found degrading movies that fetishise LGBTQ+ people and those with disabilities.
‘I would recommend that this be added to any prohibited list,’ Baroness Bertin wrote.
The peer added that ‘step-insect’ porn, that children’s charity Barnardo’s said acts almost like a ‘fig leaf’ to child abuse, should be down-played by porn websites and placed onto the list.
In a letter responding to Baroness Bertin’s recommendations, government officials said they will ‘act urgently’ to tackle the harms of violent porn.
‘We are also deeply concerned, as you have identified, that misogynist attitudes are on the rise, particularly in online spaces,’ the letter from the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, Ministry of Justice and Home Office said.
‘We must support our boys and young men to navigate this confusing space and reject and call out, sexist attitudes both in the online and offline world.
‘Changing such attitudes will take time as it requires a cultural shift, but we cannot let down our children by doing nothing.’
A No 10 spokesperson said the report will ‘inform our mission to halve violence against women and girls’.
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