SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Throat Cancer Link to Oral Sex Gains Notice – The New York Times

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For many years, smoking and drinking were considered the dominant risk factors for cancers of the throat. But on Monday, The Guardian, a British newspaper, reported that the actor Michael Douglas believed that his throat cancer was caused by an infection acquired during oral sex, highlighting a trend that has alarmed many scientists….

For full story go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/health/throat-cancer-link-to-oral-sex-gains-credence.html?_r=0

The Guardian quoted Mr. Douglas as saying, “Without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV, which actually comes from cunnilingus.”

Indeed, in recent years scientists have documented a steep rise in throat cancers caused by a strain of HPV that can be transmitted through oral sex. The virus, human papillomavirus Type 16, also causes many cases of cervical cancer in women.

In the 1980s, only a small number of throat cancers were linked to HPV infection. Historically, patients who developed the disease were in their 70s and were heavy smokers and drinkers.

Now, about 70 percent of all throat cancers are caused by HPV, up from roughly 15 percent three decades ago. Patients are now more frequently middle-aged husbands and fathers who are economically well off, nonsmokers and not particularly heavy drinkers. Men are three times more likely to be diagnosed than women with HPV-related throat cancer.

There are many strains of HPV, and the virus is so common that at some point most sexually active adults are exposed to it. A majority of people fight off the infection and do not develop symptoms. But in a very small number of people chronic infection causes oropharyngeal cancers near the base of the tongue and the area just behind the mouth….

In a study presented last weekend at a conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Haddad and other researchers showed for the first time that the partners of people with throat cancers caused by HPV were not at greater risk of developing oral HPV infections themselves. The study involved more than 200 people followed for about a year.

Dr. Haddad said the findings suggest that spouses and longtime partners do not need to take special precautions or change their sexual behavior.

For full story go to:

Throat Cancer Link to Oral Sex Gains Notice. By Anahad O’Connor. 3 June 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/health/throat-cancer-link-to-oral-sex-gains-credence.html?_r=0

Notes:

What is HPV, and what are the risks? 4 June 2013

See: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22751349

Can Oral Sex Cause Throat Cancer? 4 June 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22751349 July 4, 2013.

Yes, oral sex can lead to cancer. June 4, 2013

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/03/health/hpv-oral-cancer-explainer/index.html

You’re Teaching My Child What? The Truth About Sex Education – Miriam Grossman M.D.

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Miriam Grossman, M.D., is a US-based board certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist. Dr Grossman writes and speaks internationally to parents, students, educators, legislators and health professionals internationally on the dangers of political correctness in her profession. She has lectured at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and in Britain’s House of Lords.

Dr. Grossman’s mission is to highlight the dangers of the anything-goes, condom-based approach to sexual health. With examples from cutting edge research, she proves that sex is a serious matter, and can never be ‘casual’, especially for girls.

She also reports on her examination of NZ-based educational resources and websites hosted by groups such as Family Planning, Rainbow Youth and others — many funded by the government, available to schools, and targeted at students.

Note: Dr Miriam Grossman has been criticised for drawing attention to the dangers of promiscuous young persons engaging in “high risk” sexual practices such as oral sex and claiming that there may be a causal link  between such practices and the prevalence of certain types of oral cancers. Her detractors claim she is spreading erroneous and malicious propaganda directed at undermining the work of charitable entities such as Rainbow Youth Inc. the New Zealand AIDS Foundation and the Family Planning Association.

The purported link between oral sex and certain types of oral cancers has recently been highlighted by two-time Oscar winner Michael Douglas, who has made international headlines with his reported candid personal disclosures.:

See: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/8749817/Douglas-Oral-sex-gave-me-cancer

Asked by The Guardian if he [Actor – Michael Douglas] blamed his throat cancer to a lifetime of drinking and smoking, the star of Basic Instinct and Fatal Attraction was remarkably frank:

“No. Because without wanting to get too specific, this particular cancer is caused by HPV [human papillomavirus], which actually comes about from cunnilingus.”

Douglas, 68, who is married to Catherine Zeta-Jones, found out he had oral cancer three years ago but he is now working towards a full recovery.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus best known as a cause of cervical and anal cancer and genital warts. Experts believe it is responsible for an increasing number of oral cancers.

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Also see: Throat Cancer Link to Oral Sex Gains Notice. By Anahad O’Connor. 3 June 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/health/throat-cancer-link-to-oral-sex-gains-credence.html?_r=0

 

What WILL it take for Google to block child porn? – The Daily Mail asks.

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What WILL it take for Google to block child porn? Jailed for life yesterday, April Jones’s murderer is the latest child killer to use the internet to fuel his perversion. John Carr of the Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety said: ‘If these images were not available on the internet then men like Hazell and Bridger might not go on to kill.

  • Mark Bridger had a sickening library of violent child pornography
  • Follows revelation that Tia Sharp’s killer downloaded child abuse images
  • Calls for search sites to crack down on how paedophiles can feed fantasies
  • April’s parents sat silently during verdicts – Bridger nodded and stared up
  • Murderer given rare ‘whole-life’ prison term, meaning he will never leave jail
  • Judge calls him ‘paedophile’ with ‘sexual and morbid fantasies about girls’

Daily Mail Online Story by Paul Bentley, Paul Harris and Keith Gladdis. 30 May 2013.

Google and Microsoft last night faced demands to act over the shocking ease with which child killer Mark Bridger used the internet to fuel his perversion.

Bridger, sentenced yesterday to spend the rest of his life in jail for murdering five-year-old April Jones, had a sickening library of violent child pornography.

It follows the revelation that Stuart Hazell, the man convicted earlier this month of killing 12-year-old Tia Sharp, regularly downloaded child abuse images on his mobile phone.

Children’s charities and online protection experts are now calling for search sites to crack down on the way paedophiles can feed their fantasies with simple online searches.

Bridger used the search engines Google and Bing, which is owned by Microsoft, to look up terms including ‘naked five-year-old girls’, ‘nudism five-year-olds’ and ‘pictures of naked virgin teens’.

He also used Facebook to access  photographs of local girls, including  April and her half-sisters aged 13 and 16, and went online to save images of murdered Soham schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

Child safety charities, including the NSPCC, demanded that the internet giants introduce immediate controls to stop paedophiles gaining access to child pornography.

John Carr of the Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety said: ‘If these images were not available on the internet then men like Hazell and Bridger might not go on to kill.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2333626/What-WILL-Google-block-child-porn-Jailed-life-yesterday-April-Joness-murderer-latest-child-killer-use-internet-fuel-perversion.html#ixzz2V7jyNpTM

Calls by Coalition of children’s charities for Google to block child porn after murder link

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Internet search companies such as Google have come under pressure to block child pornography after a children’s charity said that the sites “fuel the fantasies” of paedophiles who then sexually assault children.

As Mark Bridger was jailed for life for the abduction and murder of 5-year-old April Jones, the NSPCC said there was a “worrying link” between his looking at indecent images online and the crime he went on to commit.

Bridger’s laptop contained a cache of images of children being raped and abused. Police found a horror film in his video recorder paused at a violent rape.

Last month, Stuart Hazell was jailed for the murder of Tia Sharpe, his partner’s 12-year-old granddaughter. During his trial the Old Bailey heard that he had used his computer to search for terms including “violent forced rape” and “incest”.

Bridger, like Hazell, had no previous convictions for sexual offences. Both went from viewing indecent images straight to the worst class of offending.

With no gradual escalation in behaviour, there was nothing to suggest they were a threat to children and to alert police.

Child protection charities say web companies could introduce online warnings, threatening possible prosecution when users attempt to access explicit sites.

There have been calls for Google to introduce their “safe search” option as a default setting, which would automatically block hard-core pornography and make it far more difficult for children to access accidentally.

John Carr, the British Government’s adviser on internet safety and secretary of a children’s charities coalition on the subject, has said: “Google can do more and should do more.”

Scott Rubin, Google’s director of communications and public affairs, said: “Google has a zero-tolerance policy on child sexual abuse content. When we discover child abuse imagery or are made aware of it, we respond quickly to remove and report it to the appropriate law enforcement authorities.”

Story By Martin Evans. The New Zealand Herald. Saturday 1 June 2013

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10887728

Source: Daily Telegraph UK

Opinion: Tougher porn penalties long overdue – Editorial, Dominion Post

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ON MONDAY Justice Minister Judith Collins announced the introduction of a bill to increase the penalties for the production, distribution and possession of child pornography. That same day, according to estimates by the United Nations about 200 new images of children being raped, sexually abused and tortured were circulated around the world.

The Objectionable Publications and Indecency Legislation Bill prepared by Ms Collins will not stop that evil trade. It will, however, help to curb it in New Zealand by putting repeat offenders where they belong – behind bars.

Contrary to the pathetic excuses offered by some who have been caught with child pornography in this country, possessing, viewing, and distributing it is not a “victimless” crime. By definition, its production relies on the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

Without a demand for images of those sickening acts, that abuse would not occur. Sending the strongest possible deterrent to those who trade in it will help reduce the demand.

Despite the fact child pornography causes such misery, New Zealand courts have shown an inexplicable reluctance to take those who indulge in it out of circulation. According to Ms Collins, only about one in three who are convicted are jailed. Her bill will help address that by creating a presumption of imprisonment for anyone convicted of a second or subsequent offence. It will also double the maximum penalty for the possession, import or export of child pornography from five years’ jail to 10 years and increase the maximum for distributing or promoting such material from 10 years to 14.

The bill will also expand the definition of possessing child pornography so that it includes people who view it on their computers, but do not download the images., That will close a loophole that has allowed some offenders to get away scot-free.

Finally, it will tackle the scourge of adults who use the internet and cell and smart phone technology to groom young people for sex by making it an offence to have indecent communications with anyone aged under 18.

Together with a second bill that will allow the victims of serious sexual and violent offences to have their attackers banned from contacting them or living or working near them. Ms Collins has prepared a suite of changes that will go a long way towards protecting society’s most vulnerable victims.

However, the Government must also put its money where its mouth is. The same day Ms Collins unveiled her intention to get tougher on offenders, sexual violence agencies warned they were struggling to help victims because of funding constraints.

In some cases, young rape victims are waiting up to three months to get a counsellor, depriving them of an important aspect of their recovery from major trauma.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has ordered a nationwide review into where funding for such services comes from, and where it actually goes. Like the measures Ms Collins is proposing, that work cannot be completed soon enough.

Source:

Editorial Opinion.

The Dominion Post. Tuesday, May 30, 2013.