There is growing community concern about the exposure of children to violence and extreme pornography.

In 2023, an eSafety Commissioner report found that 75% of 16-18-year-olds surveyed in Australia had seen online pornography before, and nearly one-third of those had seen it before the age of 13. 

Further, the report highlighted that studies point to a common and readily accessible ‘mainstream’ form of pornography, which often contains depictions of sexual violence and degrading sexual scripts about women. 

The Minns Labor Government will become the first state to hold an inquiry to address the impacts of harmful online content on young people, and its role in normalising unacceptable behaviour.

The Attorney General has written to Chair of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Issues, the Hon Dr Sarah Kaine, to request the Committee inquire into and report on the impacts of harmful pornography, including pornography that is violent and misogynistic, on mental, emotional and physical health. 

The inquiry will also report on the production and dissemination of deepfake or AI-generated pornography, impacts on minority groups including but not limited to First Nations, CALD and LGBTIQA+ people and people living with a disability; and the effectiveness of current restrictions on access to pornography and consideration of any need to improve these.

Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said, "I welcome this as the social media giants take no responsibility to help parents protect our children, the pornography is generally demeaning and degrading to women, and increasingly violent.

"The Safety Commissioner alerted us to these shocking statistics that can skew in very negative ways the concepts about intimate and sexual relationships.  

"I know that domestic violence is based on attitudes that find their genesis in large part to certain types of pornography, which have sadly become the norm. The spectrum on which domestic violence sits is circumlocution to extermination. This sounds harsh, but is real." 

As the NSW Government continues to work to address the scourge of domestic, family and sexual violence on communities across the state, the normalisation of misogynistic and violent acts online being easily accessible by young people in their formative years must be under the microscope.

The findings of the Committee report will be carefully considered in this context.

Attorney General Michael Daley said, “A generation of young men are growing up with unprecedented access to the online world, and this includes early and easy access to pornography, with harmful depictions of the treatment of women.

“This inquiry will, for the first time in our state, provide insight into the full impacts of harmful pornography online and young people’s access to it.”

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Jodie Harrison said, “We must address the scourge of domestic violence and sexual assault from every angle, and importantly that includes the normalisation of misogyny and violence online.

“The ease at which children and young people are able to access this content is extremely concerning and it is vital we undertake this inquiry and continue this important conversation.”

New South Wales Women’s Safety Commissioner Dr. Hannah Tonkin said, “Children are being exposed, often inadvertently, to extreme forms of pornography. The increasingly young age of exposure is concerning because pornography often contains harmful messages and representations that normalise violence against women. This exposure comes at a crucial time in children’s lives when they are developing attitudes about gender roles, sex and relationships. There is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the impacts this is having on attitudes and behaviour, particularly those of boys and young men. I welcome this timely inquiry and look forward to its findings.”

Terms of Reference:

The Standing Committee on Social Issues will inquire into the impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional and physical health, with particular reference to:

1. Age of first exposure to pornography and impacts of early exposure to pornography; 
2. Media by which pornography is accessed and circulated; 
3. Impacts on body impact; 
4. The relationship between pornography use and respect and consent education; 
5. The production and dissemination of deepfake or AI-generated pornography; 
6. The impact of exposure to violence and/or misogynistic pornography on children, teenagers and young adults; 
7. Impacts on minority groups including but not limited to First Nations, CALD or LGBTIQA+ people and people living with disability;  
8. Effectiveness of any current education programs about use and misuse of pornography, and how these may be improved; 
9. The effectiveness of current restrictions on access to pornography and consideration of any need to improve these;  
10. The resources and support currently available to parents and carers to educate children about pornography, and how these might be improved 
11. Any other related matters.