We hope that when our children are on devices that they’re safe, thanks to the safeguards we implement, but the reality is, we can’t be with them 24/7 and stop them from accessing disturbing content online. While 12 is now the average age that children first see porn, many of them are viewing illegal sexual content that is leaving them distressed – turning happy-go-lucky kids into anxious, frightened kids who have trouble sleeping. It’s why two Kiwi women want to see serious changes in NZ that would see this content unavailable in NZ.
Research done here in NZ shows that youth access to sexual content online is a very real issue. A staggering 67% of young people have seen porn and first exposure is usually by accident.
International research shows the average age kids now see porn is 12 years old (Common Sense Media 2022), and 72% of teens have seen non-consensual sexual activity (NZ Youth and Porn, Classifications Office 2018).
It’s statistics like these that have spurred friends Jo Robertson and Holly Brooker to develop the Makes Sense Campaign in 2020, after many conversations about their professional work in both porn and parenting, and the impact of what was happening with illegal sexual content online and kids.
This year they’ve launched their campaign to create public conversation around the unregulated internet landscape and to put pressure on Government and Internet Service Providers to put measures in place for child protection online.
For Jo, the impact on kids who are seeing violent sexual content is disturbing. “I’ve been talking with many Government departments for many years about these issues and nothing has happened at a systemic/macro level to protect children online,” she says. “Most parents I talk to assume that the extreme stuff, like rape and bestiality video content, is filtered or blocked at Government or ISP level but it absolutely is not”.
Her work is unique and people are often interested as to what led her to specialising in porn research and sex therapy. Jo is a porn researcher, and sex and betrayal therapist. She co-founded The Light Project, a charitable organisation, has a Masters in Science and Medicine specialising in psychosexual therapy and did a TedX talk in 2019 on “Why we need to talk about porn”. Alongside her therapy work and research she educates social workers, police, counsellors, school educators on the porn landscape.
“As I grew up I was always curious about relationships, bodies and sex, and I always had a lot of questions about those things,” she says. “When I was 12, I had a man watching me change over a cubicle wall in a changing room. I was deeply impacted by that, and it sparked this wondering about how people get ideas about sex and what was going on for him to led him to that”.
“When I was at university I started teaching sex education in schools, and realised how little young people really know about healthy sex and relationships. And they desperately wanted that information. This led to a passion to understand where they are learning, what they are learning and what we as adults should do about that”.
“And when I was training as a sex therapist I started working with couples, the more couples I worked with the more I heard about how porn was shaping what I call sexual script, which is how people think they show perform, what they expect and believe about sexual encounters”.
Holly is a PR/Communications consultant, a freelance writer and works with Parenting Place as a presenter. She was previously a high school teacher in health and is currently embarking on her Masters in Public Policy part-time.
“Because of my childhood experiences, I’ve carried a deep interest in social issues that impact on young people and families particularly in regards to sexual trauma and violence,” she says. “I have a real heart for young people who experience trauma as I’ve see the impact that has on development, and how much work it has taken for me to navigate the impact of this personally”.
Holly says she is concerned about the online landscape and the growing prevalence of extreme violent sexual content that vulnerable kids are stumbling across. “It’s traumatic to view,” she says. “Just as it would be if we saw it on the street, and it’s clear this is affecting many families”.
With a deep understanding of what is happening online with easy exposure to illegal sexual content – often accidentally – by young people and the impact on children and families, Holly and Jo, (who are both parents) felt compelled to encourage change in the area of online regulation for child protection. Together they’ve seen a huge gap in the prevention of illegal sexual content being easily viewed online and have put their combined skill sets together to advocate for systemic change.
Both Holly and Jo have dedicated hours of their time working pro-bono, with support from a couple of generous donations, and the past few months are seeing much more positive engagement on this issue. They have met with many stakeholders, including the Classification Office, officials at the Department of Internal Affairs and key executives at Internet Service Providers, to discuss their campaign and how important it is for change to happen, in haste.
For Jo and Holly, Makes Sense is primarily focussed on pushing for 3 main actions around child protection from illegal sexual content online. Jo says, “At the core of this conversation is the need to protect children from illegal sexual content that is incredibly easy to see, often accidentally. We believe the Government and Internet Providers, as well as online platforms, have a duty to provide safe internet access to our kids. Child sex abuse material, rape and bestiality content is illegal content under Section 3 of the Films, Videos, Publications Classifications Act 1993, but the loop isn’t complete. It is a crime to commit these behaviours but there is no up-to-date legislation to ban platforms from publishing the behaviours. The act really predates the internet era and we are falling behind the rest of the world.”
While their proposed actions have received positive feedback, policy change is proving to be a slow-moving beast.
Public support to show Government and Internet providers that this is an issue New Zealand whānau care about is essential to keeping momentum for social change. Their petition currently has almost 3,500 signatures, their goal is to get to 10,000 by Christmas.
Want to help Jo & Holly – and our tamariki?
SIGN THE PETITION
You can sign the petition here
- MAKE A SUBMISSION
On June 1 2023 the Government announced the proposal of “Safer Online Services and Media Platforms”, with the proposal of new industry-wide regulatory body to protect New Zealanders from harmful content on social media and other digital platforms.
Safer Online Services and Media Platforms are open for public submissions until July 31 2023. Makes Sense says it is concerned that some illegal content will remain accessible, given the limitations of the regulator and would love for you to make a submission because five minutes of your time on this submission will makes a significant impact.
You are welcome to make a submission using their draft template here. Submissions end 31 July 2023, so make your voice heard!
