Sexualistation of Young People

Sexualisation of Young People Review
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sex abusers in Britain is estimated at
between 48,000 and 64,000. 398 The majority
of those who display sexually harmful
behaviour are adolescent males, with 25–40
per cent of all alleged sexual abuse involving
young perpetrators. 399 Some clinicians
have noted that the sexualised images
of children that are now more common
and easily accessible challenge the norms
that commonly forbid sexual interest in
children. 400
Victims of sexual abuse can experience
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
cognitive distortions, anxiety, depression,
somatic concerns, disassociation, eating
disorders, sexual dysfunction, impaired
self-relatedness, behavioural difficulties,
relationship problems, aggression,
substance abuse, suicide, self-mutilation
and indiscriminate sexual behaviour. 401
One study suggested that almost threequarters
of girl victims of ‘contact sexual
abuse’ went on to experience PTSD, while
57 per cent suffered major depression. 402
The consequences of child sexual abuse
can be devastating, and yet, from the
evidence sessions that fed into this review,
professionals working with victims of
abuse pointed out that in many cases,
children who experience sexual abuse
are not given access to support services,
even following assessment. This is an issue
that will be explored more thoroughly
by the Taskforce on the Health Aspects
of Violence against Women and Children
when it reports to the government in
March 2010.
398 Lucy Faithfull Foundation (http://lucyfaithfull.org)
399 www.nspcc.org.uk/WhatWeDo/MediaCentre/
MediaBriefings/Policy/media_briefing_sexually_
harmful_behaviour_wda33252.html
400 Emma Rush – What are the risks of premature
sexualisation in children. Quoted in Tankard Reist
(2010)
401 Briere (1991)
402 Jones and Ramchandani (1999)
Child pornography
“When girls are dressed to resemble
adult women, however, adults may project
adult motives as well as an adult level of
responsibility and agency on girls. Images
of precocious sexuality in girls may serve to
normalize abusive practices such as child
abuse, child prostitution and the sexual
trafficking of children.” 403
It is a widely held view that the use of
child pornography must be considered
and understood as “…one practice within
a repertoire of child sexual abuse” and not
as an isolated issue which can lead to child
sexual abuse. 404
There is very little experimental research
on the effects of viewing images of child
abuse. However, in a study that sought to
examine this by using adult actors that
looked like young girls (so-called ‘barely
legal’ pornography), the findings showed
that exposure to such pornography led
to stronger mental associations between
non-sexual images of children and words
related to sex. 405 This suggests that viewing
sexualised portrayals of children could
lead to viewers making these associations
even when children are not being
sexualised.
An issue of concern that has been raised
by experts is that the sexualisation of girls
could potentially contribute to a market
for images of child abuse. The APA review
on sexualisation notes that there is a
new trend for ‘grooming’ children on-line
whereby paedophiles join on-line teen
403 APA (2008)
404 Kelly and Regan (2000)
405 Paul (2005)