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Porn star may help school’s sex class understand dangers of addictive hardcore porn – says Mr Slater

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THE headmaster of a private school is considering inviting a former porn star to teach sex education to his students.

Mark Slater, from the 28,000 pound – a year The Leys School in Cambridge, said that he would not rule out inviting someone with experience of the [sex] industry to talk to pupils about the perils.

Referring to the “horrifying statistics” which suggest that more and more youngsters are gaining access to hardcore pornography, he said that pupils needed to be made aware of the unrealistic nature of the online material.

He said it was vital that children were made aware of the differences between porn and genuine relationships.

Slater, who is due to retire at the end of this year, said he accepted that his pupils were watching porn.

Inviting in someone with direct experience of the [sex] industry would help to educate them he said.

“I wouldn’t rule it out, simply because of what they have done in their life, if I felt that person was going to put across good values and be a good influence,” he said.

“There are young people who have got easy access to all sorts of material which wasn’t accessible years ago.

“And I think what we have got to do is empower them with good judgment and make them understand that this kind of thing can be addictive, it can be damaging and a certain amount of willpower is necessary.”

He added: “As a school we see pastoral care as possibly the most important job we do.

“And under the heading pastoral care comes the need to prepare people for life, for their future, and an important part of that is their relationships.”

His comments coincide with calls from Julian Huppert, the Lib Dem MP for Cambridge for youngsters to be taught about relationships.

He said schools concentrated too much on the “mechanics and biology of sex”.

Source: The Times

Re-published in The Dominion Post. Tuesday, June 18, 2003, B3.

See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10123338/Porn-stars-could-teach-sex-education-says-private-school-head.html

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.

Google MUST block access to illegal and ‘disgusting’ porn, says coalition of children’s charities

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Google MUST block access to illegal and ‘disgusting’ porn, says coalition of children’s charities. John Carr, the British government’s adviser on internet safety and secretary of the charity coalition, said the Daily Mail was right to highlight the problem.[The Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc., a New Zealand registered charity, agrees wholeheartedly with the position taken by John Carr, the Daily Mail and the Coalition].

See: Daily Mail On line Article. By Sean Poultier, Consumer Affairs Editor. 26 May 2013 (link below).

  • Charities want blocking software and on-screen warnings to deny access
  • Group include NSPCC, Barnado’s, Action for Children, Children’s Society
  • Comes after investigation by Mail columnist Amanda Platell into the issue
  • Was prompted into action by case of Stuart Hazell, killer of Tia Sharpe, 12
  • Child pornography had fuelled his murderous fantasies

Charities have demanded urgent action to prevent access to illegal and ‘disgusting’ child pornography via Google and other web browsers.

A coalition of organisations is arguing for the introduction of blocking software and on-screen warnings to deny internet users access to the material.

The group includes the NSPCC, Barnado’s, Action for Children, BAAF, Beat Bullying, Children England, Children’s Society, ECPAT UK, Kidscape, and Stop It Now.

Their call follows revelations in the Daily Mail on Saturday about the ease of finding video and photos of the sexual exploitation of young girls.

The investigation by Mail columnist Amanda Platell was prompted by the case of Stuart Hazell, killer of 12-year-old Tia Sharp, whose murderous fantasies were fuelled by online child pornography.

But the group, the UK Children’s Charities’ Coalition on Internet Safety, questioned if firms like Google have the will to take action.

John Carr, government adviser on internet safety and secretary of the charity coalition, said the Mail was right to highlight the problem.

‘Google can do more and should do more,’ he said. ‘For example, whenever someone puts in a search that clearly indicates they are looking for child pornographic material, Google could flash up a warning.

‘It could say “You are trying to reach child pornographic material. This is illegal and if you persist there is a chance of arrest and prosecution”.’ Google’s web browser has three levels of filtering – ‘unfiltered’, ‘moderate’ and ‘safe’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2331245/Google-MUST-block-access-illegal-disgusting-porn-says-coalition-childrens-charities.html#ixzz2V7ZYDQsm