"Basically... porn is everywhere": A rapid evidence assessment on the effects that access and exposure to pornography has on children and young people

The Rapid Evidence Assessment was commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner as part of its Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups. It is based on a review of published evidence led by Middlesex University, in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire, Canterbury Christchurch University and University of Kent, supplemented by a focus group of young people. The researchers identified 41,000 items of academic literature about pornography, undertaking an in-depth analysis of 430 to draw their conclusions. The conclusions in the report focus on: - the changing nature of the way children access or are exposed to pornography with the growth of smartphones and tablets; - the effect of a child’s gender and age on their exposure to pornography; - the impact exposure to pornography has on children’s behaviour and attitudes to relationships and sex; - the gaps in research about the full impact of pornography on children. The report makes a number of recommendations to protect children from exposure to pornography and encourage them to build healthy relationships.