Post by Focus on Jun 18, 2013 7:13:42 GMT
Skewed porn laws give animals and dead people better legal protection than women and girls.
Porn laws give animals and dead people better legal protection than women and girls
Outraged women's groups are now calling on the Prime Minister to close a legal loophole that promotes sexual violence against women and girls.
Deceptions of rape scenes are legal as long as the actors involved are over the age of 18, the groups warn in a letter. Yet the same law makes possessing images of bestiality or necrophilia illegal – meaning animals and corpses have more rights than women and girls.
The letter, signed by Mumsnet, the National Federation of Women's Institutes, the Trades Union Congress, rape crisis centres and academics at Durham University, calls on the Government to "take urgent action against violent and misogynistic pornography online".
"We specifically want the Government to close a loophole in the pornography legislation that allows the lawful possession in England and Wales of pornographic images that depict rape, so long as the actors are over 18," the letter says.
"This means that images titled 'teen slut rape' and 'schoolgirl rape' are lawful to possess.
"Depictions of necrophilia and bestiality are criminalized by the same legislation, meaning that animals and dead people are better protected than women and girls.
"A change in the English law would send a clear message that it is illegal to possess pornographic images that promote sexual violence against women.
"We are dismayed that this loophole exists, especially at a time when the media carries many stories about the sexual abuse of women and girls, including the recent convictions for murdering young girls of Mark Bridger and Stuart Hazell, both cases involving violent pornography."
The Children's Commissioner has also found that children have easy access to online pornography, which influences boys' harmful attitudes and behavior towards women and girls, the group noted.
"We are concerned that 'rape porn' undermines the Government's efforts to tackle sexual violence," the letter says. "The Government should close this loophole immediately.
Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, hosts a summit today with internet companies to demand change
The warning comes as Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, hosts a summit today with internet companies including Google and Facebook to prevent “offensive” and “dangerous” online material causing harm.
The internet and technology giants will be summoned to a meeting in Westminster where they will come under "unrelenting" pressure to do more to tackle online child porn.
The Culture Secretary will tell the organisations to produce plans to combat the spread of child abuse images by the autumn.
Internet firms have already taken some action under pressure from ministers and in the wake of recent high-profile cases of child murder, but Mrs Miller will urge them to go further.
Mark Bridger, who killed April Jones, and Stuart Hazell, murderer of Tia Sharp, were both found to have accessed child and violent pornography and some experts argue there is a clear link between their obsessions and their actions.
BT has announced that any of its customers attempting to access web pages on the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) list of identified images of child sexual abuse will now see a message telling them that the site is blocked and the reason why.
Google has donated £1 million to the IWF, which is responsible for policing criminal content online.
But Mrs Miller said the firms could do more if they "seriously turn their minds" to the issue.
"Child abuse images are horrific and widespread public concern has made it clear that the industry must take action," she said. "Enough is enough."
Damn fcking right enough is enough!! - Fx
