Child abuse prevention researchers say the “huge” problem of child-on-child sex abuse within Australian schools is growing. It’s sparked urgent calls to overhaul the curriculum on porn and consent.
University of Melbourne researcher Gemma McKibbin said while more research into child-on-child abuse among younger children was needed, it was clear pornography was playing a key role in those over 10 years old.
Once confined to magazines and VHS tapes, the porn industry is now in overdrive, producing internet content for millions of consumers around the world.
It’s content that some children are either stumbling upon accidentally or seeking out.
Research this year from the University of Queensland found the average age children first saw porn in Australia was 13 for boys and 14 for girls.
Roughly 5 per cent of the almost 2,000 young people surveyed had seen porn by the time they were 10.
Research has shown exposure to porn is associated with sexual coercion and aggression.
Dr McKibbin said hyper-masculine ideologies propagated on social media through algorithms were also playing a part.
“[Some boys] are abusing because … they’re acting out what they’re understanding to be their entitled rights,” she said.