26th July, 2007
GLYNIS QUINLAN

Since the Northern Territory Government’s release on 15th June of the Little Children Are Sacred report, the newspapers and airwaves have been full of accounts of the devastating plight of too many indigenous children. Predictably there is now a wide ranging debate over the Federal Government’s response to the situation.

MAKING A STAND: Image from the Australian Christian Lobby's Say No To X campaign aimed at banning the sale of X-rated material.   "While no-one would pretend that hard-core pornography is the sole cause of child sexual abuse problems in Northern Territory indigenous communities, it would be impossible to read the 'Little Children are Sacred' report with an open mind and not realise that pornography has been a strong contributing factor to what has happened there."

The report is heart-breaking reading, as it details an epidemic of child sexual abuse in the Northern Territory fuelled by alcohol, drugs and pornography.

Among the many distressing stories to emerge are the rape of babies and a case of a 17-year-old forcing younger children to watch pornography and then act it out.

The situation faced by so many young indigenous children who have been the victims of sexual abuse is nothing short of a national shame. No matter how much people might debate the rights and wrongs of the Federal Government’s ‘emergency response, it would be a rare person who would refuse to see that a substantial response is needed.

Just one part of the Federal Government’s emergency response has been the decision to restrict the possession of X-rated pornography in the Northern Territory. The Federal Opposition is also supporting this initiative.

While no-one would pretend that hard-core pornography is the sole cause of child sexual abuse problems in Northern Territory indigenous communities, it would be impossible to read the Little Children are Sacred report with an open mind and not realise that pornography has been a strong contributing factor to what has happened there.

For example, one part of the report states: “the Inquiry was told a story about a 17-year-old boy showing 10 younger children degrading and depraved pornography and making them act it out. A couple of years later, one of those children became an offender in a serious rape and murder of a teenage girl.”

Another part of the report states: “It is apparent that children in Aboriginal communities are widely exposed to inappropriate sexual activity such as pornography, adult films and adults having sex within the child’s view. This exposure can produce a number of effects, particularly resulting in the 'sexualisation' of childhood and the creation of normalcy around sexual activity that may be used to engage children in sexual activity. It may also result in sexual 'acting out', and actual offending, by children and young people against others.”

With this proven linkage between pornography and child sexual abuse, the Federal Government is to be congratulated on moving to restrict X-rated pornography in the Northern Territory. As mentioned earlier, it is certainly not the full answer to the problem, but it is a large and very important step forward. It also shows that there is now Government recognition of the very real damage that pornography can cause.

However, the Australian Christian Lobby, along with many other Christian and family groups is asking why the ban on X-rated pornography should only apply to Northern Territory indigenous communities. The problems of pornography aren’t confined to these communities and the ban needs to extend Australia-wide. There would be many, many other communities in Australia - even some in our major cities - which are isolated by lack of opportunity and social disadvantage and would be as badly affected by pornography. Don’t all children need protecting?

The ACT and Northern Territory are currently the only two places in Australia where the sale of X-rated pornography is legal. Both territories have a booming interstate trade in mail-order X-rated material to the States.

Both the Federal and ACT Governments need to take action to ban the sale of X-rated pornography in the ACT as well. We need to cut this harmful material off at the source.

The people who make money from selling X-rated pornography will continue to argue that it doesn’t hurt anyone – that it just helps consenting adults with their sex lives! Talk about delusion and self-interest. It sounds very similar to all those tobacco lobby groups who used to say there was no link between smoking and health problems. Surely we have now gone beyond that.

Pornography exploits women, harms marriages and can contribute to sexual abuse.  Let’s look at some of the research. A meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of pornography (Elizabeth Oddone-Paolucci, Mark Genius, Claudio Violato, Medicine, Mind & Adolescence, Vol XII, 1997) states that there is “clear evidence confirming the link between increased risk for negative development when exposed to pornography. These results suggest that the research in this area can move beyond the question of whether pornography has an influence on violence and family functioning.”

The paper goes on to state: “While likely not a solitary influence, it appears that exposure to pornography is one important factor which contributes directly to the development of sexually dysfunctional attitudes and behaviours. The results are clear and consistent; exposure to pornographic material puts one at increased risk of developing sexually deviant tendencies, committing sexual offenses, experiencing difficulties in one’s intimate relationships, and accepting the rape myth. In order to promote a healthy and stable society, it is time that we attend to the culmination of sound empirical research.”

And then there’s the issue of the harm done to women involved in the making of pornography.

Writing recently in the Sydney Morning Herald (May 29, 2007), Sheila Jeffreys, an associate professor in the School of Politics, Criminology and Sociology at the University of Melbourne said: “Producing pornography requires that a woman, usually young and badly needing money, often with a history of sexual and physical abuse, should dissociate emotionally from her body and typically take a number of drugs to survive the experience. These drugs will include muscle relaxants, drugs to dull consciousness, painkillers and local anaesthetic.”

She goes on to conclude that “there are no redeeming features to pornography, which shows girls and women being sexually abused, and promotes the notion that this kind of treatment is 'sex' and may be required of other women”.

Action needs to be taken to rid Australia of X-rated pornography. The Australian Christian Lobby has set up a ‘Say No to X’ campaign on its Make A Stand website, specifically to lobby for a ban on the sale of this destructive material. At the time of writing almost 3,000 emails had been sent to politicians via this site.

Please click here to go to the site and join in the campaign. This is an important issue for our nation, and one in which your involvement could make all the difference. It is time we put the future of our children before the material interests of the pornographic film industry!

Glynis Quinlan is the public relations manager for the Australian Christian Lobby.

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