Teenage relationships are becoming increasing violent due to the prevalence of internet pornography, the country’s top prosecutor has warned.
Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: ‘I have been concerned about the exposure of young people to all sorts of material. The emerging research tends to support that there is a lot of abuse within teenage relationships.’
The Crown Prosecution Service is now reviewing whether action needs to be taken about the surge in domestic violence cases between teenagers.
Last year, Mr Starmer warned in a speech that ‘we are clearly at risk of a whole new generation of domestic violence’ in teenage relationships. Describing the trend as ‘pernicious’ and ‘serious’, Mr Starmer said research had ‘shown that exploitation and violence in teenage relationships are more common than previously thought’.
The DPP had pointed to figures that showed teenage girls aged 16 to 19 were at the highest risk of sexual assault, stalking and domestic abuse. Women aged 20 to 24 were only slightly less at risk. Violence against 13 to 15 year olds within relationships was as likely to occur as attacks on youths aged over 16 – and those from poor backgrounds were twice as likely to be abused by violent teenage partners.
Internet users would have to actively "opt-in" to view pornographic or harmful content when they sign up for broadband or buy new mobile phones under plans favoured by David Cameron.
Ministers are today launching a national consultation on a possible change in the law to give parents more control over the material their children view online.
The move follows concerns not only about sexually explicit material on the internet but also websites which promote suicide, self-harm, gambling or eating disorders.
A string of recent reports have also highlighted fears that the craze for “sexting” – sending explicit photographs by text message – or cyberbullying could be fuelling a hidden tide of sexual violence among children.
Parents and computer experts are being asked to choose between an automatic filter which would potentially harmful sites, but which could be switched off, or one in which people are forced to chose safety settings.
The so-called “active choice” system would give people the choice of blocking material such as 15 rated films or even social networking sites from a list when they sign up for a new broadband service, buy a new computer or set up a new smartphone.
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When a Daily Telegraph discovered her son, 14, had viewed porn, she set out on an uneasy quest to find out more.
This week’s blazing argument over how to protect children from the worst excesses of the internet is particularly close to my heart. For when my teenage son recently complained that he needed more memory on his telephone, I thought I’d better find out why he wanted it, and what for. I “borrowed” the phone one evening, reasoning that the end justified the devious means.
I was in for the kind of shock that every parent dreads. The photo folder in my son’s phone was full of images of naked or semi-naked girls. In retrospect, I suppose the pictures weren’t especially alarming – mainly digitally enhanced physiques. But it raised the inevitable question: what to do?
My first instinct was to slip the mobile back on his pillow. After all, what harm can a few naughty pictures do? Isn’t it normal for adolescent boys? And the thought of the alternative, of confronting him, made me feel awkward and prudish. Easier just to ignore the whole business.
But I know, and every parent knows, this is an issue that isn’t going away. Pornography is no longer restricted to the top shelf or the “over 18” shops. It’s everywhere on the internet, poised to stream right into the computer in your living room – and in your child’s bedroom.
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Argument is raging over whether internet providers should limit what children can view or whether parents should be left to police web-savvy teenagers.
It’s not unusual for the modern living room to contain several computers. While dad is checking email on a smartphone and mum prepares a presentation on her laptop, one child might be researching homework on a tablet computer while another watches YouTube music videos on an iPod touch.
The days when there was just one family computer sitting in the corner have gone. As a result, it’s harder than ever for parents to keep an eye on what their children are doing online. While the parental battleground a generation ago might have been over whether there should be a television in the bedroom, many of today’s children have a computer in their pocket, complete with internet access.
An Ofcom study last year found that 91 per cent of children live in a household with internet access, but that only half of parents of five to 15-year-olds supervised their children’s internet use. A further three million children aged eight to 15 have a smartphone, according to a YouGov survey published in January.
Increasingly, there are fears about the content children are accessing, whether deliberately or by mistake, when they are unsupervised online.
Last week, a cross-party group of MPs warned that it was too easy for children to view pornography. They called for legislation to force internet providers to block access automatically to pornographic websites.
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The Church of England may withdraw the millions it has invested in internet companies unless they take action to curb internet pornography.
Senior officials are conducting a wide-ranging review of the Church’s holdings in Internet Service Providers (ISPs), which are worth tens of millions.
A Church spokesman told The Daily Telegraph that its Ethical Investment Advisory Group (EIAG) was considering new guidelines on pornography, which address the ease in which hardcore sexual images can be viewed through modern media.
The review, which is expected to be concluded in the coming months, will recommend how part of the Church’s £5.3 billion portfolio should be invested in relation to internet companies.
The Church refuses to invest in firms that fuel problems against which Christians campaign.
According to Church documents, the criteria for investing in media companies is that they have a “positive influence on society by educating, entertaining and uplifting individual experience”.
It says that companies should be avoided whose “major part” of their business is “engaged in the production, transmission, publication or distribution of pornography”.
It warns that some companies can “equally” be prurient, invasive and promote lifestyles inconsistent with the Christian message.
The disclosures come in the wake of the conclusion of the trial of Vincent Tabak, who was convicted of murdering Jo Yeates in Clifton, Bristol. The killer was found to have visited hardcore pornographic websites, including ones showing strangulation.
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A parliamentary inquiry into child safety on the internet has been launched by a group of 60 MPs.
Parents, child protection and internet experts, and managers of UK internet service providers (ISPs) are being invited to exchange opinions on the best way to protect children from online pornography.
The inquiry will include two evidence sessions at the House of Commons on 8 September and 18 October.
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