Sexualistation of Young People

to adults relating to exposure to extreme
pornographic material Itzin, Taket and
Kelly concluded that there is evidence
of negative psychological, attitudinal
and behavioural effects on adults who
access this material. This included beliefs
that women enjoy or desire rape; lack
of empathy with rape victims and a
preference for extreme material; and
behavioural effects such as aggression in
the laboratory after exposure.
Itzin, Taket and Kelly conclude that sexual
explicitness per se (as Malamuth (2003)
argues) does not have harmful effects;
but when a message is presented within
a sexually explicit setting it may have
a different effect than if the message
was presented in a non-sexual setting.
This subconscious processes whereby
messages in pornography become
embodied and engendered with arousal
and orgasm live on in feelings and fantasies
that are deeply embedded and much
more difficult to remove. 387
It should also be noted that most studies
involve adult subjects, although there is
evidence to suggest links between violent
pornography and aggressive behaviour in
younger viewers. 388 A US study of boys
and girls aged 11–16 found that greater
exposure to R- and X-rated films was
linked to greater acceptance of sexual
harassment. 389 Another study where
the average age of participants was 14
found a correlation between frequent
consumption of pornography and the
belief that it is acceptable to hold a girl
down and force her to have sex. 390
387 Itzin (2000)
388 Flood (2009)
389 Strouse et al. (1994)
390 Check and Guloein (1989)
Child sexual abuse
“It would be unrealistic to assume there is
no correlation between the sexualisation and
objectification of children and their being
sexually abused. ...children are portrayed, and
taught to act, as sexual beings. Why should
it surprise us if those that wish to abuse
children use this to legitimise their actions?”
Sexualisation of Young People Review
NSPCC 391
Child sexual abuse lies at the extreme
end of the spectrum of consequences
of sexualisation. Nevertheless, it affects a
very significant number of children. One
estimate 392 puts the number of girls in
England who have been sexually abused
at 1.1 million and the number of boys at
490,000. Another suggests that as many as
2 million under-16s – and one in five girls
– is a victim of ‘sexual abuse or violence’. 393
Figures from the US show that disabled
children are three times more likely to be
sexually abused than able-bodied children;
figures in the UK are thought to be
broadly similar. 394
Recent figures from the NSPCC show that
over 21,600 sex crimes were committed
against under-18s in 2008/09. 395 More
than one third (36 per cent) of all rapes
recorded by the police are committed
against children under 16 years of age. 396
According to the Department of Health,
child sexual abuse is greatly under-identified
and reported: 72 per cent of sexually
abused children do not tell anyone about
the abuse at the time. 397 While the majority
of abusers are male, the number of female
391 Evidence provided to the Review by
Tom Narducci, NSPCC (2009)
392 London Safeguarding Children Board (2008)
393 Cawson (2000)
394 Sullivan and Knutson (2000)
395 www.nspcc.org.uk/whatwedo/mediacentre/
pressreleases/2010_25_january_more_
than_21000_child_sex_offences_recorded_last_
year_wdn70725.html, retrieved February 2010
396 Home Office Statistical Bulletin (July 2006/12/06)
397 Caswon et al. (2000)
71