Dear Friend,

Nine out of ten 8 to 16-year-olds have viewed pornography online.
 
Sounds unbelievable. Yet, all across Canada, kids as young as eight are being exposed to pornographic material that just “pops up,” unsought, on their smartphones, tablets or computers. The proliferation of pornography on the internet has resulted in our children and teenagers being flooded with messages about sexuality that are hurting their health, relationships and well-being.
 
The dangers of pornography to children have been well documented. Exposure to sexually explicit material – especially at a young age, when they are at their most vulnerable and impressionable stage in life – is associated with a range of serious harms. Pornography use is not an emotionally or physiologically neutral experience; it re-wires the brain and can lead to the development of destructive attitudes and behaviours – including pornography addiction, damaging gender stereotypes, and desensitization to sexual violence.
 
The fact is, much of today’s mainstream pornography depicts demeaning and dehumanizing sexual activity, often involving emotional, physical and sexual violence against women. The pornography that is prevalent today is cruel, misogynistic and centered around the abuse, domination and humiliation of women.
 
Unfortunately, online pornography has become the primary sex educator of our kids today. What they are learning dismisses and grossly distorts what God intends for healthy sexual relationships (1 Thess. 4:3-8). Pornography teaches that sex has nothing to do with intimacy, commitment, love or mutual respect. It perpetuates the idea that sex is about self-gratification, without regard for the other person’s well-being, objections, pain or humiliation. Young people are learning that sex is impersonal and often adversarial; that abusive, non-consensual sex is normal and desirable.
 
Early and frequent exposure to pornography has significant negative consequences for the development and health of our young people – shaping what boys and girls will expect and accept in relationships. Research shows that minors exposed to pornography are more likely to engage in casual, unprotected sex, at younger ages. Boys are more likely to sexually harass and be violent, and to see women as sexual objects who exist only to satisfy men’s desires. Girls exposed to pornography are more likely to accept sexual harassment, to be victims of non-consensual sex, and to believe it is normal for their partner to be violent.
 
This is a matter of public health and safety that can no longer be ignored.
 
We must put effective measures in place to shield young people from stumbling across inappropriate adult content on the internet. With an estimated 4.5 million sites on the internet, pornography is much more difficult to avoid than it is to encounter. And with no capacity to consent to exposure, upsetting images are being imposed on our children.
 
Canadian retailers and casinos are legally obligated to protect children from buying alcohol/tobacco and adult magazines, and from gambling. Yet, there are currently no laws in Canada mandating commercial pornography websites to use age-verification mechanisms to stop underage youth from accessing pornography online. With just one tap of the finger on their mobile devices, our young people have unfettered access to internet pornography anywhere and anytime they wish.
 
Many groups, including the EFC – committed to protecting our children and youth from the serious harms of online pornography – have been urging the federal government to enact laws requiring commercial pornography websites to have strict and comprehensive measures in place to keep minors out.
 
Bill S-203 (an Act to restrict young persons’ online access to sexually explicit materials) is a private member’s bill that was introduced in September 2020. Its enactment will make it a criminal offence to make sexually explicit material available to young persons on the internet. Such accountability is urgently needed, and the EFC applauds this effort.
 
We must now work with our Senators and MPs to ensure that this bill gets passed into law.
 
Scripture teaches us that the eyes are the gateways to the heart (Lk. 11:34) and that the heart determines how lives are lived (Prov. 4:23). We must guard the eyes of our young people. We cannot allow the pornography industry to shape their beliefs about, and understanding of, sexuality. Exposure to pornography puts our children at risk of developing destructive attitudes and behaviours that pollutes all their relationships — with God and with others.

The time for action is now! Together, we can work towards important change! You can do something today to protect the next generation – their marriages, their families, and our society as a whole – from the harms of pornography. Will you partner with us financially and in prayer as we work to support the passing of Bill S-203 and the creation of other pieces of legislation to protect our Canadian children and youth from harm?
 
We also encourage you to contact your MP with your concerns about this issue.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Bruce Clemenger
President

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