A BRISBANE parent advocating for protection of children against child pornography has welcomed a government inquiry into the sensitive subject.
“Thank you for fighting for our kids,” Paul Ninnes said in an online statement to thousands of people who signed an online petition calling for government action.
“As a dad and someone that deals with the effects of childhood exposure to porn I care greatly about this topic and how it affects Australian families.”
The Federal Government announced it was calling for submissions into an inquiry on age verification for online pornography.
Porn use has been shown to be higher among Australian children than in most countries.
Research has shown a dramatic increase in porn consumption by boys and a continued decline in the age of first exposure to porn.
Along with this there has been a corresponding increase in child-on-child sexual abuse.
A federal parliamentary committee is now accepting written submissions, addressing one or more of the terms of reference, however there are only days to go to make a submission by the deadline, October 25.
Mr Ninnes recommended visiting the website eChildhood as a valuable resource to learn more about combating the harmful effects of online porn on children and young adults.
“It is a great organisation I’ve come across that you might like to follow,” he said.
Mr Ninnes also urged people to write an online submission to government on the issue of age verification for online pornography.
“It only takes about 10 minutes and our leaders need to hear from lots of people about our concerns on how porn is affecting this country,” he said.
For information on how to make a submission, go to the inquiry at their website.
