A childhood sexuality expert is advocating that Scots schoolchildren should be taught about pornography.
American professor Megan Maas believes lessons to curb the influence of adult material on young minds could halt an epidemic of sexual harassment.
She spoke out after we reported that girls at more than 360 schools had suffered sexual harassment and violence in the last year.
Everyone’s Invited, a website campaigning against “rape culture” encourages survivors of sexual assault and harassment to post anonymous testimonies, heard from youngsters in 466 schools, up 361 from 105 in 2021.
Adolescent sexuality expert Maas, of Michigan State University, has urged policymakers in Scotland to adopt her programmes.
She said: “The goal is for participants to become critical consumers of pornography instead of passive viewers.”
Her 'Popporn' programme has four modules covering pop culture and the history of pornography, gender differences in how teens learn about sex and relationships and research on porn use.
She said: “We’d be happy to do training with school staff in Scotland. I think the programme would translate well to Scottish culture.”
Sandy Brindley, chief executive of Rape Crisis Scotland, said sexual harassment continues to be a major problem. She said: “Sexual harassment has a very negative effect, with pupils reporting feeling ashamed, embarrassed and afraid.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We continue to take forward actions in schools to address gender-based violence and sexual harassment and we are developing a national framework for schools to help tackle these issues.
“As part of relationships, sexual health and parenthood education, secondary school pupils learn about the damaging and exploitative aspects of pornography.”
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