health
A 16-year-old girl has died from suspected sexual choking. How do we come to terms with this?
We can no longer deny that many children get their sex education from online pornography. But the normalisation of violence can lead to tragedy
TL;DR
- A 16-year-old girl may have died from consensual sexual strangulation, prompting concerns about children's sex education from online pornography.
- Online porn often normalizes violence, including sexual strangulation, which is present in 35-45% of scenes on popular websites.
- More frequent intentional viewing of violent pornography is linked to a statistically significant increase in violence against women.
- One in three Australian children have seen online porn, with the average age of first exposure being 13.
- Sexual strangulation poses severe health risks, including seizures, brain damage, and is a leading cause of strokes in young women.
- A majority of individuals who have engaged in sexual strangulation reported seeing it depicted in pornography.
- Adolescence is a vulnerable period, and children's developing brains react differently to the addictive nature of porn.
- Parents and society can no longer ignore the issue; open conversations about online porn are necessary.