Porn leading under-16s to abuse

Research is revealing the real-world impact of violent pornography upon teenagers, according to academics. Dr Ruth Weir of City St George's, University of London, described how extreme pornography had become "normalised online" and that as a result, it was "playing out in young people's relationships".

Dr Weir is currently working with the Gloucestershire Constabulary to investigate domestic abuse among under-16s; this age group falls outside the statutory definition of domestic abuse, which has led to a lack of data.

The Constabulary’s Deputy Chief Constable, Katy Barrow-Grint, commented: “What we're seeing from a policing perspective, but also more widely, is all the hallmarks of domestic abuse are there from much younger ages than perhaps the law thinks it is.”

She also disclosed that under-16s are involved in approximately one-fifth of sexual offences in Gloucestershire, and that she had observed an increase in under-16s being involved in strangulation cases, many of which, she suspected, were peer-on-peer.

Barrow-Grint said that one of the major issues was one of language, as young people were more reluctant to use the word ‘abuse’, and instead were referring to ‘toxic relationships’, or even were just saying that ‘they weren’t getting on with their partner’.

Meanwhile, a 2025 survey from the Youth Endowment Fund, which is being backed by the Government, uncovered that 39% of 13-17-year-olds have experienced physical or mental abuse while in a romantic relationship.

CARE has long been concerned about the impact of violent pornography upon young people today, and was instrumental in securing the Pornography Review, which was led by Baroness Bertin. The Review concluded that “Scenes of aggressive and repressive sex, with female actors showing outward enjoyment of degrading positions (even asking for them), can reassure the viewer that it is totally acceptable to watch the abuse of women, while misleading video captions may be training men to misinterpret real life signals from women.”

In response, CARE has been at the forefront of trying to regulate the pornography industry, both by introducing age verification, and by advocating successfully for the banning of certain forms of abusive content, including strangulation and pornography which features incest and step-incest.