22nd February 2010
Measures outlined by the secular parties to tackle the premature sexualisation of children don't recognise the gravity of the problem, according to Christian Democratic candidates planning to contest coming general and local elections. Speaking to party supporters over the weekend in Newham, the Christian Peoples Alliance leader, Cllr Alan Craig, said that Britain should adopt and extend policies on sexual imagery being introduced by Australia's Labor government, led by Christian politician, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. These require mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) -rated internet content, including material sourced overseas.
The Christian Peoples Alliance forms the opposition on Newham Council and represents one of the most deprived parts of the capital. According to Cllr Alan Craig, the pledges don't go far enough:
"As welcome as David Cameron is to the discussion about the sexualisationof children, both he and Ed Balls have failed to grasp the gravity of the problem, especially as it impacts inner city districts such as Canning Town. Here children are begetting children.
"The problem is pervasive and complex, linked to issues of social inequality and the disempowerment of young men. The reality is that it is internet imagery, social networking sites and the ubiquity of new generation, internet-enabled mobile phones which are feeding sexual desire. Adolescents are saturated with media images that suggest it is their right to "express themselves" in sexual relationships. The social consequences are devastating."
The cyber-safety measures announced by the Australian government include:
1. Introduction of mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) -rated content.
2. A grants program to encourage the introduction of optional filtering by internet Service Providers, to block additional content as requested by households.
3. An expansion of the cyber-safety outreach program to improve education and awareness of online safety.
Alan Craig said that instead of 'optional filtering' stronger measures are needed to require big internet and phone providers in Britain such at Sky, Virgin Media and British Telecom to mandatory block R18 material sent down broadband into family homes or to mobiles. He is pointing to what the Australian government says is the ability of internet filtering to deal with the problem. According to Australia's Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, an Enex Test Laboratory report into the pilot trial of Internet Service Provider (ISP)-level filtering found that blocking RC-rated material "can be done with 100% accuracy and negligible impact on internet speed".
The Christian Peoples Alliance says its stance is backed by interim research into the problem published last August by
Beatbullying, who surveyed more than 2,000 secondary school pupils across England. It found that of the 25% who received an offensive sexual image, 55% were issued via mobile phone.
For more information: Contact Cllr Alan Craig 07939547198
EDITORS NOTE:
1. This month, the ABC's Hungry Beast program commissioned McNair Ingenuity Research to conduct a telephone poll of 1,000 Australians. The poll found that 80 per cent support the filtering scheme.
2. Sexual activity among teenagers in the UK is already officially recognised as a problem: despite a ten-year campaign by the government to reduce underage pregnancies, Britain has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe - up to 8.3 per 1000 among under-16s - and 16 to 19-year-olds account for more than a third of some sexually transmitted infections.
3. For US evidence see 2008 Report:
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/sextech/
A survey in the USA revealed that 20 per cent of 13-19 year olds and 33 per cent of 20-26 year olds have sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves by phone or online and 39 per cent of teens and 59 er cent of young adults have sent or posted sexually suggestive messages.
Far Tougher Measures Needed to Tackle Sexualisation of Children and Society
Measures outlined by the secular parties to tackle the premature sexualisation of children don't recognise the gravity of the problem, according to Christian Democratic candidates planning to contest coming general and local elections. Speaking to party supporters over the weekend in Newham, the Christian Peoples Alliance leader, Cllr Alan Craig, said that Britain should adopt and extend policies on sexual imagery being introduced by Australia's Labor government, led by Christian politician, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. These require mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) -rated internet content, including material sourced overseas.
The Christian Peoples Alliance forms the opposition on Newham Council and represents one of the most deprived parts of the capital. According to Cllr Alan Craig, the pledges don't go far enough:
"As welcome as David Cameron is to the discussion about the sexualisationof children, both he and Ed Balls have failed to grasp the gravity of the problem, especially as it impacts inner city districts such as Canning Town. Here children are begetting children.
"The problem is pervasive and complex, linked to issues of social inequality and the disempowerment of young men. The reality is that it is internet imagery, social networking sites and the ubiquity of new generation, internet-enabled mobile phones which are feeding sexual desire. Adolescents are saturated with media images that suggest it is their right to "express themselves" in sexual relationships. The social consequences are devastating."
The cyber-safety measures announced by the Australian government include:
1. Introduction of mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) -rated content.
2. A grants program to encourage the introduction of optional filtering by internet Service Providers, to block additional content as requested by households.
3. An expansion of the cyber-safety outreach program to improve education and awareness of online safety.
Alan Craig said that instead of 'optional filtering' stronger measures are needed to require big internet and phone providers in Britain such at Sky, Virgin Media and British Telecom to mandatory block R18 material sent down broadband into family homes or to mobiles. He is pointing to what the Australian government says is the ability of internet filtering to deal with the problem. According to Australia's Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, an Enex Test Laboratory report into the pilot trial of Internet Service Provider (ISP)-level filtering found that blocking RC-rated material "can be done with 100% accuracy and negligible impact on internet speed".
The Christian Peoples Alliance says its stance is backed by interim research into the problem published last August by
Beatbullying, who surveyed more than 2,000 secondary school pupils across England. It found that of the 25% who received an offensive sexual image, 55% were issued via mobile phone.
For more information: Contact Cllr Alan Craig 07939547198
EDITORS NOTE:
1. This month, the ABC's Hungry Beast program commissioned McNair Ingenuity Research to conduct a telephone poll of 1,000 Australians. The poll found that 80 per cent support the filtering scheme.
2. Sexual activity among teenagers in the UK is already officially recognised as a problem: despite a ten-year campaign by the government to reduce underage pregnancies, Britain has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe - up to 8.3 per 1000 among under-16s - and 16 to 19-year-olds account for more than a third of some sexually transmitted infections.
3. For US evidence see 2008 Report:
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/sextech/
A survey in the USA revealed that 20 per cent of 13-19 year olds and 33 per cent of 20-26 year olds have sent or posted nude or semi-nude pictures or video of themselves by phone or online and 39 per cent of teens and 59 er cent of young adults have sent or posted sexually suggestive messages.
