The problem with exposure to pornography

Sri Lanka still does not have a comprehensive sexuality education scheme and for most young people pornography is exposure for reproductive health education and physical intimacy

A strong misconception about Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is that people assume the subject is about teaching young people how to have sex

Expressing their sexuality is a vital aspect of a human being. Especially teenagers go through a lot of physical changes, mental changes and it is very important that they are given the right information for them to identify these changes and handle them correctly,”-Shareeka Saluhudeen, Counsellor

On February 8, 2022, the BBC reported on tough new measures to restrict access to online pornography with a new law aimed to protect children online.“The measures, to ensure users are 18 or over, could see people asked to prove they own a credit card or confirm their age via a third party service. Announcing the age verification plans, Digital Economy Minister of the UK Chris Philip said that parents deserve the peace of mind that their children are protected online from seeing things no child should see.  

In Sri Lanka, watching porn as well as being in possession of pornographic or obscene material is illegal. But according to Alexa, a website ranking service by Amazon, Pornhub.com, the world’s leading online adult entertainment platform sits at No. 40 in the list of top sites in Sri Lanka.  

Access to pornography
In contrast to many developed countries, Sri Lanka does not have a mechanism to verify ages or deny access to pornography for minors. However, efforts have been underway to launch campaigns aimed at protecting children.  
“Pop-up ads, anonymous chat invites are frequent when you surf the internet,” said a 22-year old journalist in Colombo who says she had access to the internet since she was eight.  

“But I think I was open about this subject. I was kind of aware of what this would lead to if I pursue it. I had read and educated myself which I don’t think most people get to do,” she said.  

One of the major issues parents had to deal with their children during lockdown according to youth-friendly health centres were internet usage, addiction to phones and online games, revealed Sarah Soysa, National Programme Analyst of United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA).  

Teenage sexuality and maturity
UNESCO’s latest statistics reveal that only 34 % of young people around the world can demonstrate accurate knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission and that two out of three girls in some countries have no idea of what is happening to them when they begin menstruating.   

These are some of the reasons why there is an urgent need for quality comprehensive sexuality education. But in Sri Lanka, much of these topics are also interlinked with culture and religion which often act as barriers to the subject.  

UNESCO’s latest statistics reveal that only 34 % of young people around the world can demonstrate accurate knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission and that two out of three girls in some countries have no idea of what is happening to them when they begin menstruating

Sri Lanka still does not have a comprehensive sexuality education scheme and for most young people pornography is exposure for reproductive health education and physical intimacy.

 “Lack of comprehensive sexuality education in Sri Lanka is a very serious issue,” said one activist on gender-based violence in Kandy who works with young adults in the area.   

“Young people go through a lot of changes during puberty, especially boys. A boy once confessed that when he was 14, he was so curious and driven, that he watched his own younger sister shower through a peephole. When he dared to share it with some of his male friends, he discovered he was not the only one to have committed — what he later realized was the exploitation of his own kind,” she said.  

 “Expressing their sexuality is a vital aspect of a human being. Especially teenagers go through a lot of physical changes, mental changes and it is very important that they are given the right information for them to identify these changes and handle them correctly,” says Shareeka Saluhudeen, a practising professional counsellor in the Puttalam District.  

“It can be traumatic for them if they do not know what they are going through. I have noticed it strongly that it is the lack of knowledge that lands them in wrong pathways,” she said.  

Lack of comprehensive sexuality education
In 2021, two cases of incest (father-daughter) were reported to Woman Confidential Information Officer of Chilaw, Subhashini Herath.   

“In both these cases it was very clear the minors had no idea what was happening,” she said.  
In Puttlam, 16-year-old *Hilma was brought to professional counsellor Shareeka Salahudeen by her mother’s sister.   

Hilma lived with her grandparents after both her parents refused to take custody of her, after separation. Hilma’s grandmother had complained to her aunt that Hilma was becoming increasingly stubborn and arrogant, assuming it might be because of her age.  

Her aunt sensing the need, brought Hilma for counselling where it was found that her grandfather was sexually abusing her. She had no idea she was being exploited but was expressing her discomfort by being stubborn and arrogant.   

The situation was dealt with the support of the Police and a third party organization Salahudeen said.  

Naïve in the digital age?.
A source who wished to remain anonymous related how a close friend had to go through a very hard phase in her life because of being addicted to watching pornography.   

While in a romantic relationship she maintained mainly through online platforms, her partner had coaxed her to watch pornographic material with him to which she gradually became addicted. Eventually, she had started sending nude pictures of herself to him which she felt was “normal” between them. Afterwards, she realized the issues that would come up and fell into a state of depression by being paranoid about it.   

“She was visibly deteriorating right in front of our eyes. She started eating compulsively, gained weight and was trying to seclude herself. She lost her focus on her studies and she faced her Ordinary Level examinations the very same year and sadly scored very badly despite being a bright student in former grades,” the source recalled.  
“The evolution of society and technology is irreversible,” says Bhumi Seneviratne, a final-year law student and a young activist on gender equality.   

“People adapt and embrace changes because they have to. Comparatively children -both boys and girls -nowadays I would say are not blind and backward like how we were. They tend to be more proactive.”  
“I have seen in some instances youngsters who go through a ‘breakup’ of a romantic relationship — some of them which were evidently physical— but the very next day they have recovered and are already going out with other people because they need to have interesting updates about their life in their TikTok profiles,” she explained.  

Physical aggression
A study by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation in America on the “Three A’s” of Internet pornography—accessibility, affordability, and anonymity concludes mainstream accessible pornography is actively portraying harmful stereotypes that regularly depict young, teenage women as sex objects who enjoy and desire being sexually dominated and demeaned.  

Billie Ellish, 19-year-old award-winning American singer and songwriter called pornography a “disgrace” in a popular radio show last December. Opening up about the private life she revealed she started watching porn when she was, “like, 11.”  

“I think it really destroyed my brain and I feel incredibly devastated that I was exposed to so much porn. I think that I have sleep paralysis and night terrors because of it; I think that’s how they started because I would just watch abusive BDSM and that’s what I thought was attractive. It got to a point where I couldn’t watch anything else; unless it was violent.”  

Eilish said her exposure to pornography as a child impacted her when she eventually became sexually active.   
“The first few times I had sex, I was not saying no to things that were not good. And it’s because I thought that’s what I was supposed to be attracted to”.  

With the lack of education and the lack of access to correct information, banning porn sites or developing access protocols remains a failed endeavour by the Sri Lanka Government in the past decades due to people finding other ways to access these sites.  

“Giving right information is the most accurate move now because it allows young people to make an informed decision or a choice. Additionally, the information should be non-judgmental and accurate for them to make these decisions” Sarah Soysa commented.  

Misconceptions about Comprehensive Sexuality Education
A strong misconception about Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) is that people assume the subject is about teaching young people how to have sex.  

CSE is an international technical guidance by major world health organizations such as UNESCO, WHO, UNFPA and is followed by many countries. With components divided and allocated to students from Grade 1 to 13, the guidance aims to give information age appropriately.  

Key concepts in the International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education includes  

1. Relationships-Family, sibling etc  
2. Values, Rights and Culture  
3. Understanding Gender  
4. Violence and staying safe  
5. Skills for health and well being  
6. The human body and Development  

Government Endeavours

Hathe Ape Potha, an effort by the Government in giving CSE to students was not a success mainly due to the usage of youth-friendly language where conservative activists voiced out terms such as “masturbation” was being problematic.  

The Daily Mirror learns that the Ministry of Education is currently working on a booklet for Grade 12 students but as supplementary reading material or an e-course due to challenges arising in changing the health and physical
education curriculum.   

The Ministry is also implementing training programmes for teachers to build their capacities to deliver accurate knowledge on CSE.  
¬Names have been changed to protect identity

23% of the Sri Lankan population consists of young people. (The 2012 census, Department of Census and Statistics (DCS)) In Sri Lanka, 4.6% of pregnancies are teenage pregnancies with subnational disparities of 5–8% (Demographic Health Survey, 2016).   

“National Survey on Emerging Issues among Adolescents in Sri Lanka” (2004) revealed that 6% of 14 – 19 year old’s in school and 22% of out of school adolescents have had sexual experiences with heterosexual partners while 10% in school and 9% out of school adolescents have had homosexual relationships. The survey also found that the age of sexual initiation has become 15.3 years for males and 14.4 years for females (Rajapakse T.N.I. 2004 National Survey on Emerging Issues among Adolescents in Sri Lanka. Colombo, UNICEF).   

A nationwide Youth Health Survey conducted in the year 2013 & 2014 revealed that only 59% of respondents received education on reproductive health in school and that sexual and reproductive health-related knowledge among youth was not satisfactory as nearly 50% were unaware about most aspects of basic SRH issues (National Youth Health Survey conducted in the year 2013 & 2014 by the Sri Lankan government, UNFPA and UNICEF).