By The Children’s Commissioner for England

This report draws together research from focus groups with teenagers aged 13-19 and a survey of 1,000 young people aged 16-21. Of the 64% who said that they had ever seen online pornography: • We find that pornography exposure is widespread and normalized – to the extent children cannot ‘opt-out’. The average age at which children first see pornography is 13. By age nine, 10% had seen pornography, 27% had seen it by age 11, and half of children who had seen pornography had seen it by age 13. • We also find that young people are frequently exposed to violent pornography, depicting coercive, degrading or pain-inducing sex acts; 79% had encountered violent pornography before the age of 18. Young people expressed concern about the implications of violent pornography on their understanding of the difference between sexual pleasure and harm. Indeed, this report finds that frequent users of pornography are more likely to engage in physically aggressive sex acts. • Pornography is not confined to dedicated adult sites. We found that Twitter was the online platform where young people were most likely to have seen pornography. Fellow mainstream social networking platforms Instagram and Snapchat rank closely after dedicated pornography sites. At the time of publication, the UK’s landmark Online Safety Bill is making its way through Parliament. It holds the promise of, finally, regulating pornography sites and ensuring that they implement robust age verification to protect children. Now is a vital moment to ensure that we understand the impact of pornography on children’s lives, and to legislate for a commensurate response. This report is published as the Online Safety Bill passes through Parliament. The legislation, as currently drafted, imposes important age verification requirements (technical measures to establish someone’s age) on platforms which host pornography to prevent under-18s from accessing adult content online. The research contained within this report syntheses data from a nationally representative survey of over 1,000 young people aged 16-21 in England and two focus groups with teenagers aged 13-19. All research was conducted between November 2022 and January 2023 by the Children’s Commissioner’s Office (CCo) with an aim of understanding the prevalence of pornography exposure (both intentional and unintentional) among young people and its impacts on children’s safety and wellbeing. Differences between groups are only reported where they were statistically significant. The Commissioner intends for this report to aid Parliamentarians as they make crucial decisions about the protection of children from harmful content, including pornography, through the Online Safety Bill. The Commissioner also hopes that findings from this research will support the regulator, Ofcom, in their future enforcement regime, as well as parents, teachers and other key professionals, to understand and protect children from pornography’s impacts. The main research findings are set out below. Unless otherwise indicated, figures refer to young people who have ever viewed pornography. • Pornography consumption is widespread among children. The average age at which children first saw pornography was just 13 years old. • Many children are first exposed to pornography at a very young age. A significant minority of children access pornography at very young ages: 10% had seen it by age nine, 27% had seen it by age 11 and 50% of children had seen it by age 13. • Children often stumble accidentally across pornography online; 38% of 16-21-year-olds said that they had accidentally come across it online. In focus group discussions, young people told the CCo that accidentally viewing pornography for the first time made them feel ‘confused’, ‘insecure’, ‘troubled’ and ‘curious’. Chillingly, some young people spoke about the role of sexualised cartoons, depicting popular children’s characters and which appear in pop-up ads, in actively grooming young children towards adult pornography. • A significant minority of young people are sent explicit images involving a person known to them in real-life. Girls are disproportionately the target of ‘self-generated’ pornography, 51% of girls aged 16-21 had been sent or shown explicit content involving someone they know in real-life, compared to 33% of boys. • Twitter is the platform where the highest percentage of children had seen pornography; 41% of young people reported having seen it on Twitter. Dedicated pornography sites came next (37%), followed by Instagram (33%), Snapchat (32%) and search engines (30%). • Many young people seek out pornography online. Half (50%) of survey respondents, 58% of boys and 42% of girls, aged 16-21 said that they sought out online pornography themselves. • A significant proportion of males are frequent users of pornography. A fifth (21%) of males aged 16-21 viewed content at least once a day in the 2 weeks prior to the survey, compared to just 7% of girls. This is suggestive of a dependency which carries its own risk of interrelated harms. • Boys and those who first viewed online pornography at age 11 or younger were significantly more likely to become frequent users of pornography, consuming it twice or more per week. Focus group participants told us that pornography was sought for several reasons; sexual gratification, curiosity and to ‘learn’ about sex, and pressure to ‘fit in’ with peers. • Children are frequently exposed to violent pornography. The majority, 79%, of 18-21-yearolds had seen content involving sexual violence before turning 18. Early exposure to pornography and frequent consumption significantly increased the likelihood of viewing violent content. Young people are significantly more likely to see violence perpetrated against a woman (65%) than against a man (29%) in pornography. • A significant proportion of young people seek out violent pornography; 36% of young adults had sought out content involving at least one act of sexual violence. Again, a young age of first exposure and frequent consumption of pornography were predictors in the likelihood of actively seeking out violent content for sexual gratification.   

London: Children's Commissioner for England, 2023.   48p.

By Payal Shah , Physicians for Human Rights

The escalating conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has caused a “massive influx” of widespread sexual violence perpetrated by the DRC military, armed groups associated with neighboring countries, United Nations (UN) peacekeepers, and community members, according to a new report published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). This widespread and severe sexual violence – at least 113,000 cases reported by the UN in 2023 alone – demands immediate action by the DRC government, neighboring countries, and the global community to support survivors and end the violence, PHR said. “Our report establishes a staggering influx of people who have suffered conflict-related sexual violence – including rape and sexual slavery – being treated in health facilities across eastern DRC, said Payal Shah, JD, report co-author and director of research, legal, and advocacy at PHR. “Survivors are facing sexual violence due to increasing insecurity and insufficient food and cooking wood in Internally Displacement Persons (IDP) camps. Yet clinicians lack the resources to treat this growing number of survivors and ensure forensic documentation for accountability.” “Massive Influx of Cases”: Health Worker Perspectives on Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo documents clinicians’ testimonies about patients who faced violent encounters with armed forces, which included armed sexual assault by multiple perpetrators, penetration with foreign objects, and forced captivity. The health workers reported that the sexual violence resulted in a wide range of medical and psychological harms, including lacerations, paralysis, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The resurgence of violence and related displacement has led to staggering levels of sexual violence, with the UN reporting more than 113,000 cases registered in 2023. Documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence more than doubled in the first half of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023. These figures are likely underestimates due to the challenges of reporting. Medicines San Frontiers (MSF) reports that the organization treated more than 17,000 cases of sexual violence in only five provinces of DRC in the first five months of 2024. The United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) also reports 940,000 people displaced in 2024 alone, bringing the total to 6.4 million people displaced in DRC. PHR’s new report is among the first studies to date to document the perspectives and accounts of health workers who have cared for child and adult survivors of conflict-related sexual violence in eastern DRC. “The world must not look away from these violations of international law,” said Shah. “The DRC government, other parties to the conflict, and regional and international actors must act now to prevent conflict-related sexual violence by improving security in eastern DRC, including around IDP camps, and addressing food and fuel shortages. Clinicians tell us they urgently need resources for better medical care, psychosocial support, and forensic documentation to prevent long-term suffering by survivors of sexual violence and to ensure survivors can pursue justice.”PHR’s findings are based on semi-structured interviews with 16 health care professionals and humanitarian workers in conflict-affected areas of North and South Kivu, DRC. PHR’s survivor-centered research methodology mitigates the risk of retraumatizing survivors and captures the perspectives of clinicians, who are witnesses to the physical and psychological trauma endured by survivors. The clinicians interviewed by PHR report: Survivors of conflict-related sexual violence are as young as three years old.A stark increase in sexual violence cases in Minova, Kirotche, and Goma health zones as violence has “increased dramatically” in North Kivu and South Kivu since 2022.Survivors experienced violence at the hands of multiple perpetrator groups, including various governmental military forces, rebel, and militia groups active in the conflict:Members of multiple armed groups, including those supported by the DRC’s neighbors(such as March 23 Movement or M23) and the DRC military itself, were identified by survivors as perpetrators who used sexual violence to instill fear, intimidate, and displace affected communities.Community members, family members, peers, and employers were also identified as perpetrators of sexual violence, as well as staff affiliated with the United Nations.One health care worker below described the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (UN MONUSCO) forces giving “favors” to families in exchange for sexual relations with their children.Sexual violence was perpetrated by Swahili, Lingala, and Kinyarwanda speaking perpetrators.Survivors also report multiple forms of sexual violence, including rape in captivity as well as penetration with foreign objects.In one case, a survivor reported to a health worker being held for five days and in another case a survivor reported being held in captivity for one month before escaping.Survivors reported rapes after leaving IDP camps or their communities to look for food or firewood for cooking in insecure areas nearby the displacement camps.Survivors presented at health facilities with a range of medical and psychological needs, including lacerations, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancies, incontinence, paralysis, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and developmental delays.Survivors reported multiple drivers of sexual violence, including being forced from their homes by armed actors, experiencing sexual violence while fleeing along dangerous routes, and being attacked while searching for food or firewood, as resource shortages forced them into unsafe areas.Health care providers struggle to cope with the crisis as they lack adequate supplies, staffing, training, or compensation to manage the acute influx of survivors.Significant barriers for survivors to access care include limited forensic documentation capacity in the health sector, a lack of resources, fear and stigma, and inadequate access to health services, including contraception and abortion care. Eastern DRC’s decades-long conflict escalated in North and South Kivu in 2021 with the reemergence of the M23 rebel group, which UN experts have identified as being controlled by Rwanda. The conflict’s escalation has led to widespread attacks against civilians, mass displacement, a weakened health system, and food insecurity. The ongoing conflict has also increased the incidence of communicable diseases, including mpox. The capacity of the DRC health system to respond to sexual and gender-based violence, already weak, has been further weakened, with many survivors unable or unwilling to seek care due to stigma, facility closures, and fear of further violence. The planned withdrawal of international peacekeeping forces by the end of 2024, including the MONUSCO and the East African Community Regional Force (EAC-RF), has raised concerns about the potential for further escalation. PHR’s report calls on all parties to the conflict to abide by international human rights law and to take immediate steps to end conflict-related sexual violence. It urges the international community to strengthen monitoring, investigation, and documentation of conflict-related sexual violence, and to promote accountability and justice for violations by all parties. PHR also calls on the international community to ensure the withdrawal of MONUSCO is managed and monitored to ensure that prevention and accountability for sexual violence is not hindered and that knowledge and capacity is transferred to local actors. The DRC health workers interviewed by PHR identify a range of practical recommendations to policymakers and donors to improve the response to the crisis, as well as emerging good practices to support child survivors of sexual violence in DRC, notably child-friendly spaces and child-focused programming.

 New York: Physicians for Human Rights, 2024. 46p.  

By Ania Moroz and Tamar Dinisman

“Looking back now, I wouldn’t have gone to the police, because it is one of the hardest things you can ever do in your whole life. I can’t even sum up in words what it does to you mentally and physically. You can be the world’s strongest person ever in the world, but going to court can break you. It’s awful.” Victim-survivor It is estimated that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 18 men have been subjected to some form of sexual violence since the age of 16 and that 1 in 6 children have been sexually abused.1 The majority of victim-survivors will not report the offence to the police. Of those who do report it, a very low proportion will receive a charge and have their case go to court. The number of victim-survivors of sexual violence who give evidence in trial is not openly available. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows that in the year ending June 2023, 11,506 defendants were proceeded against for sexual offences2 and, in 2022–23, 3,004 defendants were charged with rape-related offences.3 This report focuses on the experience of sexual violence victim-survivors where the defendant has been charged and their case has gone through the court process. It focuses on the three main stages of this experience – before, during and after giving evidence – and highlights the main challenges victim-survivors face at each stage. This report also makes recommendations for changes in policy and practice to address these challenges. To meet the aims of the research, a multimethod approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, was used. These include: 12 semi-structured interviews with victim survivors; focus groups and interviews with Victim Support sexual violence practitioners; and Victim Support sexual violence cases analysis.

Cardiff: Victim Support, 2024. 63p.  

By Ania Moroz and Tamar Dinisman 

“Looking back now, I wouldn’t have gone to the police, because it is one of the hardest things you can ever do in your whole life. I can’t even sum up in words what it does to you mentally and physically. You can be the world’s strongest person ever in the world, but going to court can break you. It’s awful.” Victim-survivor It is estimated that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 18 men have been subjected to some form of sexual violence since the age of 16 and that 1 in 6 children have been sexually abused.1 The majority of victim-survivors will not report the offense to the police. Of those who do report it, a very low proportion will receive a charge and have their case go to court. The number of victim-survivors of sexual violence who give evidence in the trial is not openly available. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data shows that in the year ending June 2023, 11,506 defendants were proceeded against for sexual offences2, and, in 2022–23, 3,004 defendants were charged with rape-related offenses.3 This report focuses on the experience of sexual violence victim-survivors where the defendant has been charged and their case has gone through the court process. It focuses on the three main stages of this experience – before, during, and after giving evidence – and highlights the main challenges victim-survivors face at each stage. This report also makes recommendations for changes in policy and practice to address these challenges. To meet the aims of the research, a multimethod approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods, was used. These include 12 semi-structured interviews with victim-survivors; focus groups and interviews with Victim Support sexual violence practitioners; and Victim Support sexual violence cases analysis.

Cardiff::Victim Support, 2024.   

By Mohamed Osman, and Laetitia Bader  

  Since conflict broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum in April 2023, between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), both sides, particularly the RSF, have committed widespread sexual violence against women and girls, which are war crimes. Both warring parties, in violation of international humanitarian law, have attacked local responders, and obstructed aid, doubly victimizing survivors. Based on 42 interviews conducted between September 2023 and February 2024 with service providers to survivors of sexual violence, including healthcare workers, within and outside of the local responders, as well as aid workers, “Khartoum is not Safe for Women!” documents conflict-related sexual violence in Khartoum and its sister cities of Bahri and Omdurman, since April 2023. Service providers described how the warring parties have subjected women and girls, aged 9 through 60 to rape, gang rape, as well as forced and child marriages. Men and boys have also been victims of sexual violence. Despite the serious harm to the health of survivors described in the report, it finds that the actions of both warring parties have prevented survivors from accessing critical and comprehensive emergency health care. SAF has restricted humanitarian supplies imposing a de facto blockade on drugs entering RSF-controlled areas of Khartoum since October 2023, in violation of international humanitarian law. The RSF has pillaged medical supplies and occupied medical facilities. Both warring parties have intimidated and arbitrarily arrested doctors, nurses, and volunteers because of their work. The United Nations and African Union should deploy a civilian protection mission to Sudan tasked with monitoring human rights abuses, including conflict-related sexual violence and willful aid obstruction, and ensure that those responsible for rape and attacks on healthcare and local responders are held to account.   

New York: Human Rights Watch, 2024. 100p.

Edited by Alan D. Berkowitz

Focus on Men: The document emphasizes the responsibility of men in preventing rape and provides resources for professionals in higher education to work with college men on this issue.

Research and Theory: It reviews empirical research on college men as perpetrators of sexual assault and proposes an integrative theoretical model for rape prevention programs.

Prevention Programs: It describes a model acquaintance rape prevention program for men, including program philosophy, facilitator selection and training, content, and evaluation.

Student Perspectives: Insights from student facilitators who participated in rape prevention programs, highlighting their experiences and the impact of these programs.

Jossey-Bass, 1994, 91 pages

By Diana E. H. Russell

The Politics of Rape: The book begins by discussing the political aspects of rape, emphasizing the victim's perspective.

Author's Background: Diana E. H. Russell, the author, shares her experiences and the motivation behind writing this book.

Rape Definition and Statistics: The book provides a definition of rapeand discusses the statistics and reporting of rape incidents.

Victim's Trauma: A detailed account of a rape victim's experience ispresented, highlighting the psychological impact and societal reactions.

This section sets the stage for a deeper exploration of the subject from various angles, including societal attitudes and the legal system's treatment of rape.

Stein and Day, 1975, 311 pages