Welcome to today's lesson on the laws and impacts of viewing of pornography.

My name is Ms. Wittams-Howarthh, and I'm gonna be with you today.

The lesson today will have or might have parts of the lesson that might be upsetting and might make you feel uncomfortable.

You are required to be accompanied by a trusted adult.

If at any stage you feel uncomfortable, or unsure, or upset, you should close the screen and speak to that trusted adult.

Let's get started.

Let's have a look at the outcome for today's lesson.

I can describe the laws around pornography and explain how pornography can cause harm.

Before we start the lesson properly, let's have a look at some ground rules.

The first one is from Laura.

She says, "Listen to others.

It is okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge the statement, not the person." And then we have Andeep, he says, "Respect privacy.

We can discuss examples, but do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone, including ourselves." We can say, for example, my friend, and then we don't know if that's someone you know, one of your family, yourself, someone you've seen on TV or read about.

It's just keeps everybody nice and safe and anonymous.

And then we have Izzy.

She says, "You can choose your level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join in discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot." And that includes your teachers and trusted adults.

Lastly, we have Jacob and he says, "There is no judgement.

We can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without the fear of being judged." And that includes asking any questions that you have.

There's no such thing as a stupid question.

And then, here are the key words for today's lesson.

You'll see that they're highlighted throughout the slide deck in bold.

Keep your eyes open for them.

The first one is healthy.

When something is healthy, it is beneficial for your body and/or your mind.

Pornography is sexual images and videos.

Illegal means against the law.

Unrealistic, not like real life.

Addiction, a loss of control over doing, taking, or using something, even when it is harmful.

Here's our lesson outline.

The laws and impacts of viewing pornography.

First of all, we are gonna talk about the laws around pornography, and then we're gonna explore why pornography can be harmful.

So, let's kick off the first part of the lesson.

What are the laws around pornography? First of all, we need to have a think about some context and think about some relationship values that make a relationship healthy.

And some of these include honesty, equality, respect, trust, communication.

And whether a relationship is intimate or not, these values that we saw on the last slide are really important.

Intimate means being close to someone.

This can be an emotional closeness and/or a physical closeness.

A physically intimate relationship can include holding hands, cuddling, kissing, or being sexual with each other.

A healthy intimate relationship needs to have the same values in order to be enjoyable and ensure that everyone feels safe.

There needs to be honesty and clear boundaries that are openly shared.

Respect so that both, that all partners respect each other and that any intimacy is consensual.

Everyone agrees.

There needs to be trust, feeling safe, and secure around partners.

Communication.

There are opportunities to share thoughts and feelings and that they are valued and held as important by anyone else in the relationship.

And then, equality.

It needs to feel good for everybody involved.

Whether a relationship becomes intimate or not, it is always a choice.

You need to decide whether you want to have an intimate relationship and if so, whether you are old enough and you feel ready.

Consent is extremely important in physically intimate relationships.

Consent is a person's permission or agreement by choice to anything that involves them.

For example, their body, their personal space, their time, their money, or their belongings.

Where do young people get information about sex and relationships from? You might have your own ideas.

Let's see what we've got here.

Friends, older siblings, cousins, family members.

Maybe medical professionals.

Maybe parents or carers.

Perhaps school.

And maybe relationship partners.

However, all of these places are not completely reliable.

Think about how much trust you place in these sources of information.

One of the main places that young people find information about intimate relationships is on the internet, and there are some really great reliable sources.

There's tonnes of information online about intimate relationships.

Some of these are reliable, such as the NHS or specific relationship charities.

However, some young people may only see intimate relationships portrayed through pornography, which is not always reliable.

Pornography, also known as porn, is content, such as videos or images, that show or describe sexual acts.

It's available online, in film, or in print.

But it's important to understand that it's made for adults, not young people.

Although pornography often shows actors having real sex, they're not often shown as people with real personalities and feelings.

Instead, the actors are often following a script and the scene is staged or pre-planned and often very carefully pre-planned.

So, let's think about the laws then around pornography.

The first law is that it is not legal for someone under the age of 18 to watch pornography.

However, pornography is designed for adults, people over age 18, and it can be extremely harmful for children.

Therefore, it's really important to be mindful of this.

We'll come on to talk about some of the harms from pornography later on in this lesson.

The second law is that it's illegal for someone to sell or distribute pornographic material to anyone younger than 18 years old.

Distribute means to pass on, forward, share, or publish.

Even if it hasn't been viewed, it may still be a crime to share it.

Let's do a check how well have you been listening.

Complete the sentence.

It is illegal to share sexual images or videos of? How are you going to fill that gap? Have a think.

I'll take some feedback in a couple of seconds.

All right, what did you put? Under 18s.

Well done if you got that right.

Great listening.

The third law.

It is illegal for anyone over 18 to force or pressure a young person into watching porn.

It could happen on purpose or by accident.

Either way, it's considered a crime.

The fourth law sites that contain pornography can only be accessed by someone who is over 18, and this has to be confirmed before accessing the material.

If someone under the age of 18 accesses these sites, the company can be prosecuted.

Let's do another check.

True or false, it is illegal for someone 18 years or older to watch pornographic material in the same room as a 15-year-old.

True or false.

Have a think.

How well have you been listening? So if you tick True, you ought be right.

Someone over 18 would be causing some, a younger person to see pornographic material.

So therefore, it's illegal.

It's against the law.

Well done.

Now, although pornography is legal, there are some types of pornography that are illegal, and these include sexual images or videos of anyone under the age of 18.

Revenge pornography, and that means to hurt or harm someone in return for a perceived insult or offence.

So, that means that the insult or offence might not have happened, but the other person feels that it has and then kind of wants to get their own back.

That's what revenge means.

In 2023, the sharing of private sexual materials, photos or videos, of someone without their consent in order to cause embarrassment or distress was made illegal.

When someone first encounters pornography, it can often be unintentional.

It means by mistake.

Here are some examples of that.

"I'd heard the word porn, but I didn't know what it meant so I typed it into a search engine and came across lots of images." "I received a pop-up from another website when I was playing online games.

When I clicked on it, it took me to a pornographic website." "I received a link to porn from a friend, but I didn't know what it was." "I was shown pornographic content on a friend's phone." So you can see how easy it is for that to happen.

If a young person is exposed to pornography without knowing what it is, it can be an upsetting experience.

Often, porn is shared on social media or through messaging platforms. However, there are some ways that you can stay safer.

So, one way would be by not clicking on links or opening attachments if you are unsure about them and also not forwarding them to other people.

Another way would be to block accounts of people that you don't know or that post adult or pornographic content.

And check.

And this is really important that safe search filters are set on your digital devices to prevent adult content appearing on your feeds.

Let's do a check.

One way to stay safe online is to a, save all attachments that you are sent, b, turn on safe search internet filters, or c, forward links you were sent for your friends to check.

What do you think? So if you said option b, turn on safe search internet filters, you'd be absolutely right.

Really well done.

Great listening.

Now, here's a task for you.

Firstly, consider each of these scenarios.

Decide for each whether it goes against the law or not.

So, think back to the earlier part of the lesson.

Here's scenario 1, John is 19 and receives a link from a friend.

When he opens the link, he sees that it's pornography.

He forwards this to his friend Adam who is 18.

Serena is 15 and accidentally came across pornographic material through a pop-up on a game she was playing.

She clicked on the link and accessed the pornography site.

She closed this quickly when she realised what it was.

And then lastly, Mahdeen is 18 and has a pornographic image on his phone that he was sent by someone else.

He accidentally leaves his phone open when his 16-year-old brother comes into the room and picks up the phone and sees the image.

Decide which of these, if any of them, are illegal or that they go against the law.

What you might want to do is pause the video now, have a go at this task, and then we'll take some feedback in a few minutes.

Off you go.

Let's have a look what your answers should include.

So the first one, John 19 receives a link from a friend that's pornographic and he forwards it to his friend who's 18.

No, it's not illegal.

Both people are over the age of 18.

Well done if you got that right.

So, Serena comes across pornographic material accidentally.

She views it.

She close it down.

That's not illegal.

Remember, it's not illegal for people under the age of 18 to see pornography.

And then, we've got Mahdeen, who's 18, has an image on his phone.

His brother accidentally sees it.

That is illegal.

Although it's not intentional, Mahdeen has caused someone under the age of 18 to view pornography.

Well done if you got those right.

Great listening.

Here's Section 2 of the task.

Consider each of these scenarios.

They're the same as before, but now think about what each person might do in response.

So, John is 19 and receives a link from a friend.

When he opens the link, he sees that it is pornography.

He forwards this to his friend Adam, who's 18.

What might these people do? Serena is 15 and accidentally came across pornographic material through a pop-up on a game she was playing.

She clicked on the link and it accessed the pornography site.

She closed this quickly when she realised what it was.

What might Serena do? Mahdeen is 18 and has a pornographic image on his phone that he was sent by somebody else.

He accidentally leaves his phone open.

His 16-year-old brother comes in the room, picks up the phone, and sees the image.

What might Mahdeen do now? Okay, have a go at this.

You might wanna pause the video while you do that and we'll take some feedback in a few minutes.

Off you go.

Okay, let's do some feedback.

So, what might happen now? Adam could tell John that he doesn't wanna see these images again, and then hopefully John will respect that and not send him anymore.

What might Serena do? Serena might tell a trusted adult and learn how to block pop-up.

So, that would be what she could do.

And then lastly, Mahdeen might talk to a trusted adult about what happened so they know what his brother saw.

So, there are some examples you might have come up with others.

That's great.

Well done.

Let's move on to the second part of the lesson now.

How can pornography be harmful? So, it's important to know that what is seen in pornography doesn't always show healthy real-life relationships or experiences.

For example, in healthy real-life relationships, people show respect for each other.

In pornography, one person may use insults or treat the other person aggressively or violently.

In healthy real-life relationships, feelings and emotional connection are important.

In pornography, there's a focus on sex and sexual body parts, not emotions.

In real-life relationships that are healthy, there is inequality between partners and they consent to do things that they are comfortable with.

In pornography, porn is a form of entertainment so it might include inequality or exaggerate stereotypes.

There probably won't be consent discussed and probably you won't see them talk about safer sex either.

In healthy real-life relationship, sex is personal and private and there's a connection between partners.

In pornography, actors put on a performance, so sex is often exaggerated and made to seem more exciting.

Watching pornography can also make real-world relationships less enjoyable as it can create unrealistic expectations of sex.

Pornography can cause someone to see partners as objects rather than people, which can lead to a lack of respect towards them.

Watching pornography can increase how often people think about sex, which can make it more difficult for someone to enjoy time with friends or in using their hobbies.

Pornography can also be harmful, because it can change how people treat their partners in real life.

It can impact people's expectations of their partners when they are being intimate.

They think that the only way to for sex to be good is to mimic things that they see on pornography.

Healthy relationships are based on mutual respect, communication, and consent, and they aren't always shown in porn.

Some pornography presents violence against women as being a normal part of an intimate relationship.

Pornography doesn't just impact how we see and treat others.

It can also impact how we feel about ourselves and our bodies.

Because porn is made for entertainment, porn actors may have unrealistic appearances or expectations.

For example, many porn actors are cast due to their larger than average breasts or penises as the media presents this as desirable.

Many porn actors completely get rid of their pubic hair.

Not because that makes sex any more pleasurable, it's really just so the camera can get a better view.

Many porn films take a long time to film, and so the reality of how long a male actor can maintain an erection is exaggerated.

Let's do a check how well have you been listening.

Pornography is a realistic representation of intimate relationships, true or false? Have a think.

If you ticked False, you'd be right.

Let's find out why.

Porn may not show the same values as healthy real-life relationships.

For example, it may show aggression or violence.

Actors may also have unrealistic appearances.

Watching pornography can also be addictive.

The more someone watches it, the more they want to watch.

If someone is worried about how much pornography they watch, they could seek advice from a relationships charity.

This can be online and completely anonymous if they prefer.

They can talk to a trusted adult like a parent, carer, or medical professional.

Let's do a check.

How can pornography be harmful? Identify whether each statement is true or false.

You can indicate your answers with a tick for true and a cross for false.

A, pornography can be addictive.

B, pornography can always teach about healthy relationships.

C, pornography can impact how people view penis size.

D, Pornography creates unrealistic expectations of sex.

Have a think.

Mark your answers with a tick or a cross.

So, let's take some feedback.

Pornography can be addictive.

If you ticked it, you'd be right.

Well done.

Pornography can always teach about healthy relationships.

Well, that's not true.

So hopefully, you've put a cross by that.

Well done if you've got that right.

Pornography can impact how people view penis size.

Absolutely right, you should have got a tick by that.

And then lastly, pornography creates unrealistic expectations of sex.

And if you tick that, you've got that right as well.

Really well done.

Great listening.

Let's have a go at this task.

Read the case study about how a young person developed an unhealthy relationship with pornography.

Then, I'd like you to answer the questions on the next couple of slides.

So, here's the case study.

When Femi was 13 years old, he heard some of the older boys at school laughing at something on their phones.

He heard them use the word porn.

So when he got home, he searched this word online.

What he saw made him feel uncomfortable, but he felt too embarrassed to talk to a trusted adult about it.

A year later, Femi accessed a link posted on a messaging app.

Femi clicked the link, which took him to a pornography website.

He watched one of the videos.

He found it upsetting, so he closed the website.

However, his parents found out that he had accessed the website and were angry with him for clicking the link.

They deleted his social media account and removed him from some of his group chats, because they felt that he was being badly influenced by other people.

As Femi got older, he came across more links to pornography.

He became so interested in porn that he would visit the websites regularly.

The more unrealistic content he watched, the more worried he became he didn't have the same body as some of the pornography actors and started to think that he was really ugly and unattractive.

He also copied some of the words he had heard, even though he didn't always know what they meant and would insult girls at school by negatively commenting on their physical appearance.

So, have a think about these questions.

When Femi first saw the link posted on the messaging app, what could he have done? And then, the next question, what harm is happening from Femi regularly watching unrealistic pornography? You might wanna pause the video while you have a think and you answer those questions, and we'll take some feedback in a few minutes.

Let's take some feedback.

When Femi first saw the link posted on the messaging app, what could he have done? Your answers might have included the following.

He could have talked to a trusted adult about what he saw and how it made him feel.

He could have blocked the social media account that posted the link.

He could have turned on safe search internet filters on his digital device, so the adult content would be blocked from appearing.

Now, let's have a look at what harm is happening from Femi regularly watching unrealistic pornography.

What have you spotted? Your answers might have included some of the following.

He's starting to develop an addiction to watching pornography.

It feels compulsive.

He can't stop himself.

He's starting to view girls at school differently and is using insults towards them.

And he's becoming self-conscious about his appearance as he's comparing himself to some of the porn actor's unrealistic body standards.

Well done if you got those right and for picking those up.

Here's a summary of the lesson.

Watching pornography is legal, but is illegal for anyone over 18 to force or pressure a young person into watching porn.

It is also illegal for someone to sell or distribute pornographic material to anyone under 18 years old.

Values of healthy relationships include honesty, equality, respect, trust, and communication.

Pornography is often unrealistic.

It will not always show relationships with these values and will often have actors with unrealistic standards of appearance.

Watching unrealistic pornography regularly can be harmful and addictive.

It can impact relationships people have in real life, the attitudes they have towards others, and how they feel about themselves.

If you've been affected by any of the issues in today's lesson and you want more support or advice or information, you can obviously talk to your trusted adults, your teachers, safeguarding leads.

There's also some charities listed here that can help.

We've got Childline, CEOP, and Internet Matters.

Thank you ever so much for learning with me today.

Thank you for all of your work and your ideas.

I'll see you again soon for another lesson.

Take care of yourselves.