CANADA — While the UK moves closer to eradicating porn from the public eye under the auspice of “protecting the children,” Canadians are attempting to engage underage access to adult content head on.
According to the Edmonton Sun, teachers are being urged to talk to young people about the “dangers of watching pornography.” Alberta school trustees voted on Monday in favor of lobbying for the topic to be included in the province’s reworked school curriculum. And it was a landslide, with 85 per cent approving.
The news outlet reported that background material presented to voting delegates Monday at the Alberta School Boards Association’s fall meeting claimed research has found links between watching pornography and increased violence against women, sexual abuse of young people, anti-social behavior and relationship problems. No such rigorous research, however, exists.
For instance, a 2010 “study” of 50 pieces of adult content conducted by US-based anti-porn organization Fight The New Drug found 88 per cent of the scenes in their sample contained “violence.” Half touted “verbal aggression.”
Though Fight The New Drug’s bias and unsubstantiated research methodology render its findings moot, the Alberta School Board’s willingness to engage the very real issue of underage access to adult content is encouraging.
Alberta is at the beginning of a major overhaul of their K-12 curriculum in English and French, a process that will reportedly take six years and $64 million to complete. School board members at Monday’s meeting also voted in favor of lobbying to include mental health and emotional wellbeing, lessons to prevent sexual abuse, computer coding and environmental education in the reworked curriculum.
