Fantasy vs reality: the impact and influence of pornography on young people

“Very insightful, an eye opener!”
Course participant, South East Essex Primary Care Trust

Increasingly, young people are reporting that they get much of their sex and relationships education from pornography, particularly via the internet where it’s often uncensored and unrestricted.

Communication via the internet, including social networking sites, and mobiles is the norm for young people. This means that sexualised imagery and content are increasingly common.

Professionals identify pornography as increasingly influencing young people’s sexual expectations, attitudes and relationships. They often struggle to know what is legal and how to respond to issues that arise in relation to pornography.

This course covers the availability of pornography and the law as it relates to pornography. It addresses how the media can impact on young people’s attitudes, expectations, self image and sexual development. It demonstrates how professionals can respond and proactively facilitate discussion in this challenging area of work.

Pre-requisite

Participants are expected to have a basic sexual health knowledge.

Aim

To explore the impact and influence of pornography on young people’s attitudes to sex, safer sex, their sexual development and relationships.

Learning outcomes

• Gain awareness of the scale of pornography, young people’s use and attitudes to it as well as its potential impact and influence.
• Increase knowledge of the law as it relates to pornography.
• Explore own attitudes towards pornography and how this may impact on own practice.
• Increase confidence in addressing issues around pornography with young people.

Number of days

One

Free resource

All participants will be given a copy of our Fantasy vs Reality teaching resource pack to help deliver sessions about the influence of the media and pornography.