The Rapid Evidence Assessment was commissioned by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner as part of its Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Gangs and Groups. It is based on a review of published evidence led by Middlesex University, in partnership with the University of Bedfordshire, Canterbury Christchurch University and University of Kent, supplemented by a focus group of young people. The researchers identified 41,000 items of academic literature about pornography, undertaking an in-depth analysis of 430 to draw their conclusions. The conclusions in the report focus on: - the changing nature of the way children access or are exposed to pornography with the growth of smartphones and tablets; - the effect of a child’s gender and age on their exposure to pornography; - the impact exposure to pornography has on children’s behaviour and attitudes to relationships and sex; - the gaps in research about the full impact of pornography on children. The report makes a number of recommendations to protect children from exposure to pornography and encourage them to build healthy relationships
