Parents will be better equipped to initiate age-appropriate conversations about pornography with the young people in their lives thanks to new funding from the Victorian Government.
The Victorian Government is partnering with Sexual Health Victoria to deliver the Parental Guidance Required: Initiating conversations with young people about pornography program.
Activities will include workshops with parents and carers and new resources to build parents’ and carers’ confidence to initiate and navigate age-appropriate conversations with children and young people about the risks and harms of pornography.
Sexual Health Victoria also will work with prevention organisations to deliver a community awareness campaign to reach parents, carers and young people across the state.
This funding is in response to recent research by Whereto Research that shows that 13 per cent of 12 to 17 year olds surveyed had seen pornography by the age of 10, and nearly half (46 per cent) had seen it by the age of 12. Many parents are unaware their children have accessed pornography.
Violent pornography can have damaging impacts on children and young people’s understanding of consent, ideas about healthy intimate relationships, expectations of sex and views on gender stereotypes.
The Parental Guidance Required program will challenge these harmful impacts of pornography and help parents and their children overcome barriers in having important conversations about the issue.
More information about this program will be provided in the coming months.