Have you seen the campaign from girls at The Cooper School in Bicester asking for school uniforms to be banned in pornography?
I can see why students don’t want to wear something that performers are using in porn. There are worrying trends to consider that fly under the radar a little in polite company! The drive for porn performers to be younger and younger is putting students at risk while they are still in our schools. Furthermore, the normalisation of sex work though platforms like Only Fans is encouraging girls who would never have considered this profession to see it as aspirational.
It can be hard as a teacher to understand what is happening for our young people, as well as to know how to react to it. So what is the landscape our students are navigating? It is now not “if” but “when” students will be exposed to pornography. 79% of young people have seen violent pornography by the time they are 18. And it’s not just those searching for it - social media is now the primary way young people are being introduced to porn.
This is content they are not equipped to process, and which will mess with their mental health. It changes their sexual scripts, leading to altered expectations in sexual situations. Extreme acts and violence are normalised, leading to emotional and physical damage. This also affects their view of consent and their ability to feel compassion for others. Each one of them needs to understand that pornography is a fake version of sex, that it can lead to dependency, and will wreck their body image.
Teachers often have one of two problems in addressing this. Either we have been deeply affected ourselves and feel ill equipped to help others, or we have no experience of this and feel unable to begin discussing it. Students can come across as very knowledgeable, and this feels intimidating! However, if we are not educating about pornography then we leave our young people open to a range of damaging lies and misinformation. We have a responsibility to stand up for our students who are being oppressed and trapped (Is 1:17).
The good news is that we are able to help no matter what our personal experience. Students need to know that we know what is going on and be given space to ask questions. Getting educated about pornography and its effects will help you feel more confident. The Naked Truth Project has lots of information on our website and, as a Christian organisation, it is orientated towards hope and not unnecessarily graphic.
Our app, BrightTrack, is designed for young people, helping them understand what pornography is doing to them and how to get free. It has a standard track and a faith track so that it is applicable to those with faith and without. It is fully anonymous and free to make it as accessible as possible.
Our PG Workshops empower parents to talk about this topic and give them tools to keep their children safe. These are bookable by schools or churches, and we also run online versions once per term.
Finally, we provide experienced educators who come into schools and deliver presentations on this topic. We help students to look at pornography objectively and provide information on how to quit. Our sessions can either be used to fully meet your obligations under the new RSE curriculum, or as a great way to broach the subject, leaving space for teachers to talk about what students have already heard. “What did you think about the NT session?” is a much easier conversation than starting from scratch!
Get in touch if you’d like to find out more about what we can offer your school.
Kate Harvey NT education lead (Midlands)