Parents want more information

How do you make a choice about what to watch on television?

Many of us make our choices using a newspaper or TV listings guide – the three highest circulation guides sell a combined total in excess of 3.5 million copies every week.  However the electronic programme guides (EPGs) from digital providers such as Freeview and Sky are increasingly important as the number of channels available grows.

A member of Mediawatch-UK recently pointed out that Sky’s EPG details for films do not always include the film’s BBFC rating.  Some broadcasters – including Channel 4 and More 4 – always include the information but other broadcasters – including the BBC – do not.

We wrote to Sky to ask them if they would consider updating their listings with BBFC classifications on all films but they told us that the information they use is provided at the discretion of broadcasters and is not controlled by Sky.  Presently there is no mandatory requirement to include BBFC ratings on films shown on non-dedicated movie channels.

Parents are continually told that it is up to them to protect their children from potentially harmful media but it is important that broadcasters provide them with the tools they need to do the job properly. 

We have now written to Ofcom requesting a change so that BBFC ratings, where available, are included in electronic listings guides.  There is a large difference between films rated U, PG and 12 and yet all can be shown pre-watershed.  Parents need to be able to make informed choices about what is suitable viewing for their children and BBFC ratings are an important factor in making that choice.

We await Ofcom’s response with interest.

Have your say in protecting children online

At the end of last year David Cameron said he would like to ensure that all households with children would have to install web filters.  This is a great step in the right direction but it falls some way short of blocking harmful material as a default unless users opt in to access it.

This ‘default-on’ option would not offer the same degree of protection as the ‘opt-in’ option. 

• It is a promise that has yet to be delivered
• It will only apply to large ISPs and not smaller ones
• It is a voluntary arrangement and will have no statutory backing
• Will not protect the most vulnerable

Last Tuesday The Online Safety Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords.  It has been introduced with the aim of reducing children and young people’s access to inappropriate, potentially harmful, material online.

The Bill has been introduced by Baroness Howe.  Should it become law, it would require:

• Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and mobile phone operators (MPOs) to provide an internet service without access to pornography as a default - with adult subscribers able to opt-in to receive such material.
• Electronic device manufacturers to provide a means of filtering internet content at the time of purchase.
• ISPs/MPOs to make available information about online safety - which would be broader than just filtering information - as part of their on-going relationship with subscribers.

If you agree that these measures would offer children the best protection from harmful online content: have your say!

The Bill had its First Reading on 14th May; the next step will be a Second Reading debate which should take place later this year. 

Safeonline.org.uk has been updated to you to contact members of the House of Lords to urge them to support the Bill and press for an early Second Reading.  The website is a one-stop-shop which includes facts about the issues, links to key resources and tips on how to write to Peers.

With your help we can give this Bill the momentum it needs on its journey through the House of Lords.  This is an opportunity for everyone to have their say; it is an important first step towards seeing online pornography ‘switched off’.

Please help up spread the word.  Do consider emailing this to your friends and contacts and linking to us via Facebook and Twitter.

Our voice is heard

An important part of the work we do at Mediawatch-UK is alerting broadcasters when their output is questionable and has fallen short of the standards set out in the Broadcasting Code and the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines.

This can often be a frustrating process but it is vital because if we do nothing our silence condones that which is broadcast.  Happily our views are being noted.

Before Easter we wrote to the BBC about their Red Nose Day broadcast.  Although fully supportive of the aims of the broadcast we emphasised extra care should have been exercised over the inclusion of some of the items shown before the watershed.

We pointed out that because Red Nose Day is heavily promoted in primary schools, an associated broadcast is very likely to be watched by younger children.  Many schools encourage pupils to raise money for Comic Relief which means children identify with the brand making them more likely to want to watch a related broadcast.  The BBC Editorial Guidelines state that ‘programme makers and schedulers should also take into account the nature of the channel and viewer expectations’; on this occasion we did not feel that the strong likelihood of a younger than usual audience was taken into account.

Of particular concern was a sketch featuring Rowan Atkinson as the Archbishop of Canterbury.  The sketch was broadcast pre-watershed but contained strong language.  Our complaint was not the only one and we understand that over 2,000 people also expressed their concern.

The BBC responded to our criticism: ‘as a direct result of viewer feedback we took a swift decision to remove this from BBC iPlayer’.

It is heartening to know that our views are
being listened to and action is being taken.

If you see anything which you consider unacceptable may I urge you to make your views known.  Our new improved website has all the emails, addresses and numbers you need to get in touch and an updated directory including this information was sent out to you with the Spring 2013 newsletter.  If you are not sure who to contact you can use the new website Parentport (you don’t have to be a parent!) which is a one-stop-shop to make your views known about anything you have heard or seen.

Our sexualised society

A petition asking the editor of The Sun to stop running topless pictures on page 3 of was launched last year.   It caught the public imagination and quickly attracted support from high-profile figures including Jennifer Saunders and Alistair Campbell.  It was soon followed by other online petitions, including one asking Lego to stop partnering with the paper because of its page 3 images.

This week it was announced that Lego’s two-year association with the paper was to end.  The company officially denied that the move was linked to online petitions; however a senior Lego executive had previously acknowledged concerns about its association with page 3 in an email to campaigners.

Even the paper’s owner, Rupert Murdoch, has now hinted that he is considering replacing the regular feature.  Last month he responded to a tweet calling for the pages removal because it was outdated saying: “You maybe [sic] right, don’t know but considering”.

News like this is a welcome reminder that we are being heard.  However other news this week is a stark reminder of just how important it is that we keep on fighting.

A survey of parents found that their children were under so much pressure to grow up in our over-sexualised culture that most parents thought childhood finished at the age of 12 with about a third of parents thinking it ended even sooner, at the age of 10.

Of even greater concern are figures released this week which revealed that children as young as five are committing sexual offences.  The NSPCC warned that ‘easy access to sexual material is warping young people’s minds’ and demanded that we “do more to shield young people from an increasingly sexualised society.”

They are quite right.  When the stakes are this high we cannot afford not to act!

 

Children need protecting from porn

The announcement that Iceland is considering blocking online pornography because of the damage it causes to society continues to provoke heated debate around the world.

Earlier this week I was part of a panel debating the issue on the BBC World Service.  Also taking part in the debate were a spokesperson from the Icelandic government, an open internet campaigner, a porn film producer and a porn performer.  Listeners from all over the world had their say via Facebook, Twitter and e-mail.

Incredibly, the tenor of the debate soon moved on from a discussion of how best to control children’s access to online pornography into a debate on whether such material was harmful for children at all.

Whilst distancing themselves from violent material, both the porn producer and the actor said that they felt pornography could be good for children; educating them about the realities of sexual relationships.

This is quite staggering; pornography is a very poor sex educator.  Quite apart from the fact that the majority of pornography includes aggression and violence[1], allowing children free access to pornography neglects their basic right to be protected from all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse. [2]

Three-quarters of teachers surveyed for the TES last year said they believed access to porn was having a “damaging effect” on the pupils in their care. One said some pupils “couldn’t get to sleep without watching porn”.

The day after I took part in the debate a teenager was jailed for his part in the rape of a 14 year old girl.  The court hearing was presented with psychiatric reports that revealed the attacker had watched sadistic pornography on his computer and wanted to re-enact what he had seen.

The fact is that the lives of both the victim and the perpetrators in this case have been blighted because of what took place.  Sadly it may not prove to be an isolated incident; last year in the UK 24 police forces arrested children under 13 for suspected rape while seven detained at least one ten year old.

If children’s understanding of healthy relationships and sexuality is perverted by pornography the implications for the future are terrifying.  We cannot continue to skirt around the issue.  It is vital that we act to protect children, especially when the stakes are this high.

Mr Cameron has pledged stricter internet controls to protect children but online pornography still remains depressingly easy for children to access.  We are still waiting for a date for the debate on this crucial issue which is to take place in the House of Lords.  As soon as we have one I will let you know so that you can have your say and let the Lords know that we must act to protect children and we must act quickly.

Vivienne Pattison

Director: Mediawatch-UK

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[1] Robert J Wosnitzer & Ana J Bridges, “Agression and Sexual Behaviour in Best-Selling Pornography: A content Analysis Update” (paper presented at the Fifty-seventh Annual Meeting of the International Communication Association, San Francisco, 24-28 May 2007)

[2] Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

Protecting children in a media-saturated world

There has been a mixed reaction to last week’s news that Iceland is considering banning all online pornography.

Many people have welcomed the move, whilst others have expressed concern that it ‘smacks too much of Chinese-style censorship’ believing that adults should be able to choose to access explicit material.

What is clear is that a general consensus is building that children do need protecting from online adult content.  In the real world access to adult services – such as gambling, alcohol or tobacco – requires a robust proof of age and the same should be true in the virtual, online world.

A YouGov poll, commissioned for The Sun, found that, if the option were available, 57% of people would choose to block pornography from their internet connection.

The same survey revealed that 61% of parents did not think their children had ever seen any inappropriate sexual content on the internet, although 29% knew that their children had been exposed to such material. 

Sadly these figures do not tally with what children themselves are saying.  Research carried out by the Safer Internet Centre found that, in the last year, 27% of 7-11s and 41% of 11-19s had seen ‘something unpleasant or hurtful’ on the internet.  We also know from other research that almost one in eight children has visited a pornographic website showing violent images and 27% of boys access pornography on a weekly basis.[1]

Clearly there is still a great need for education for parents.  Ofcom’s Media Literacy Audit revealed that, despite growing broadband take-up and a range of initiatives, there has been little improvement in UK adult or children’s levels of knowledge over the past few years.

If you are a parent or grandparent struggling to protect your children online – and the NSPCC tells us that the average child now has access to five internet-enabled gadgets – you can find sources of help and advice on our campaign website Safeonline.

You may also find the following helpful:

• Game On!   BBC 1’s One Show included a very interesting segment on video gaming.  If you have a child or grandchild who is a keen gamer you may be interested to watch the report here (the item on gaming begins approximately 3 minutes into the programme).

• Film Insight   If you’ve always found the BBFC’s film classifications to be a somewhat blunt instrument when it comes to making choices about what to watch, you may be interested to hear about BBFCinsight.  All films and games classified since 2007 have BBFCinsight which gives more detailed information for parents highlighting the key classification issues.  Key issues are highlighted and expanded on to give examples of what you might expect to see or hear such as violence, bad language or sexual content.  Helpfully, BBFCinsight also notes any other issues that might be important for parents, or those wishing to take younger viewers to see a film such as themes of divorce or bereavement or use of discriminatory language or behaviour

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[1] Sources available at www.safeonline.org.uk

Iceland's solution to the menace of online pornography

This week Iceland announced radical proposals which could see it become the first Western democracy to block all internet pornography.

A law forbidding the printing and distribution of pornography is already in force in Iceland but, presently, it doesn’t cover on-line material.

Following a widespread investigation into the effects of pornography, which included evidence from teachers, law enforcers and organisations working with abused children, a strong cross-party consensus is building that violent pornography is damaging and must be controlled.

Iceland’s investigation concluded that the extremely violent nature of much online pornography was increasing the intensity of sex attacks.  It also found that children exposed to violent porn showed similar signs of trauma to those who have been physically abused.

A number of methods to achieve a ban are under consideration including blocking access to pornographic websites and making it illegal to use Icelandic credit cards to access pay-per-view pornography.

An Icelandic government spokesperson said “we are looking at the best technical ways to achieve this, but surely, if we can send a man to the moon, we must be able to tackle porn on the internet.”  She continued “it is no longer acceptable to keep blaming parents for the fact that children see graphic sexual content.  Parents are not the only ones responsible for protecting our young people.  They cannot be with their children all the time and the porn industry actively tries to seek children out”.

Iceland’s approach has been called ‘progressive’; looking at pornography from the perspective of the harm it does to women and to children who are having their sexuality hijacked at a young age by brutal sexual imagery.

The measures for which we have been campaigning in the UK would see adult material blocked as a default although those wishing to access such material would be able to opt-in to do so.  The proposals being discussed in Iceland go much further and we await the outcome with interest.

In Iceland tackling the menace of internet pornography has become a cross-party issue.  We are hopeful that a similar political consensus will emerge in the UK.  Last week Labour frontbencher, Diana Abbott, spoke of our ‘increasingly pornified’ culture and David Cameron has said he finds the fact that children are able to access such material ‘utterly appalling’.