Parent Seminar: 8 things you should know about Porn and Social Media

At WCCS, PDHPE lessons, Pastoral Care discussions, alongside school psychologist-led seminars for Years 10-12 students, are addressing building healthy relationships, including looking at topics of respect and consent.

These topics cannot be properly addressed without some discussion on the effect of pornography on children and young people.

The Australian Government released a report in 2017 into the effects of pornography on children and young people which indicated exposure to pornography strengthened attitudes supportive of sexual violence and violence against women.

• Pornography can have a range of negative effects on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about sex and gender; sexual practices; mental wellbeing and the risk of sexual aggression.
• Adolescents who consumed violent pornography, at follow-up were six times more likely to have been sexually aggressive compared to those who had viewed non-violent pornography/no pornography.
• There is a range of intersecting risk factors that increase the likelihood that male consumers of pornography will perpetrate sexual aggression or have a predisposition towards sexual aggression.

(Quadara, A., El-Murr, A. & Latham, J. (2017). The effects of pornography on children and young people: An evidence scan. (Research Report). Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.)

The above-mentioned research also indicated that nearly half of children between the ages of 9-16 experience regular exposure to sexual images. Therefore, it is incredibly important that we are providing students with knowledge and strategies to respond appropriately from a Biblical understanding to inadvertent or intentional exposure to inappropriate, sexually explicit material.

At WCCS, we believe it is important that there is a whole school approach to issues of student wellbeing where both home and school feel equipped and empowered to talk to young people about complex topics. Wherever possible, parent and staff seminars will be offered to support student wellbeing lessons discussed at school.

On Monday evening, 23^rd May 2022, 7pm in our school hall, parents and carers are invited to hear Marshall Ballantyne-Jones, a Christian researcher who has been researching the effect of pornography on young people. He will present some helpful tips for parents and carers on navigating conversations with their children on this topic.

Parents and carers of Year 5 students should prioritise attending this seminar wherever possible as some content from this presentation will be introduced to students in Term 3.

This seminar is of benefit to all parents and carers of students at WCCS.

Please RSVP at https://www.trybooking.com/BYIHH

No children will be allowed to attend this event.

Mrs Michelle Shaw,

P-12 Curriculum and Wellbeing Project Manager