Could porn turn your child into a rapist?

Abuja - In a chilling article, the Daily Mail
reports that 'a 13-year-old schoolboy raped his
8-year-old sister after watching pornography on
an XBox computer console' with his friends.
The boy said after watching porn he 'decided to
try it out' on his sister because he was small
and 'couldn't remember stuff'.
Fiona Elvines, from the Rape Crisis Charity is
quoted as saying children accessing
pornography was a 'growing concern'. She
added, 'For a long time people have been sitting
on the fence and saying we do not have the
evidence to say porn is harmful, but now we
are starting to have some evidence around
young people’s exposure.
How much evidence do you need? When
children see porn, they have no context for what
it is used for. There is pressure on children to
be sexualised, particularly on younger boys, to
start having sex.'
In a similar case, reported in The Telegraph, a
12-year-old boy raped his younger sister after
watching porn at school. When sentencing the
minor Judge Thomas warned that the Internet
cannot be used as a 'babysitter'. He also
warned parents that the internet is a 'mirror of
adulthood in all forms'.
He added: 'It's a sad fact that many boys of
his age will have been exposed to adult
pornography. But not all boys exposed to it will
act as he did. He found pornography online and
replicated what he saw.'
The boy admitted having urges he could not
control and knew what he was doing was
wrong. The court ordered the boy to register as
a sex offender for two and a half years.
Protecting your child from the negative
influence of pornography
The FBI Cyber Divisionoffers the following tips
for protecting your child online:
- Communicate with your child about sexual
victimization and online dangers.
- Spend time with your child online. Have them
teach you about their favourite destinations.
- Keep the computer in a common room and
not in the child's room.
- Use parental controls and website-blocking
software.
- Always maintain access to your child’s online
account. Randomly check his/her email.
- Teach your child responsible use of online
resources.
- Find out what computer safeguards are used
by your child’s school, the public library, and
the homes of your child’s friends.
- Understand, even if your child was a willing
participant in any form of sexual exploitation,
that he/she is not at fault and is the victim.