Violence against women takes on the form of a bonding ritual amongst groups of men who put what they have viewed in pornography into practice.

Guest post by Dr Em

Originally published at Uncommon Ground Media

A court has heard how Footballer Mike Emery raped a sleeping woman twice in one night and sent naked photos of her to his teammates asking them: “Anyone want a go?” Emery sent these photos of his alleged rape victim with a laughing emoji ‘to two WhatsApp group chats, comprising 70’ men. They did not go to the police, or call for help, instead, one man responded 'Show us her gash', to which ‘Emery allegedly sent a photograph showing the woman's vaginal area’. Emery’s victim only found out about the intimate photos of her he had shared with all of these men after Warrington Rylands club chairman Mark Pye informed her. A jury found Emery not guilty, because, one presumes, this is seemingly normal behaviour. Indeed, it is happening frequently. A different footballer and a different rape made the headlines again in 2024 as the former Man City and Real Madrid player Robinho was ordered to be jailed in his home country after he was found guilty of taking part in the gang rape of an Albanian woman celebrating her 23rd birthday at a Milan nightclub. A court in Milan had stated that Robinho had acted with "special contempt for the victim, who was brutally humiliated”.

We are excited to announce that members of the Collective Shout team will heading to Washington, DC next month for the 2024 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit, hosted by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and Phase Alliance. The theme is “The Great Collision: Emerging Tech, Sexual Exploitation, and the Ongoing Pursuit of Dignity.”

Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist and Campaigns Manager Caitlin Roper will be presenting.

Reem Alsalem, United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences has delivered her report on prostitution, examining violence against women and girls “as a form, cause and consequence of prostitution”. We welcome her findings, which condemn prostitution as a form of male violence against women and her call for a human rights abolitionist approach to the sex trade. 

Ms Alsalem reviewed 300 submissions (including ours) from around 60 countries, including submissions and consultations from sex trade survivors before publishing her report. We were pleased to be cited in her final report.

In her concluding statements, she said:

I have complied with the obligations to consult widely and to listen. However, this Council has not asked me to listen only, and not listen to those that speak loudest but also to bring in my independent and impartial analysis from a human rights perspective.

We’ve previously spoken out about the risks of AI to women and girls, including ‘deepfake’ and ‘deepnude’ apps that allow users to digitally manipulate images and videos and create pornographic and degrading images of them. 

As these technologies are exploding in popularity, and users can create highly realistic content, women and girls are overwhelmingly at risk of being victimised – as we’ve seen with the creation of pornographic images of Taylor Swift circulated last week. 

"Increasing prominence and accessibility of these services will very likely lead to further instances of online harm, such as the creation and dissemination of non-consensual nude images, targeted harassment campaigns, sextortion, and the generation of child sexual abuse material."

New research has found Deepnude apps are exploding in popularity, with undressing websites attracting 24 million unique visitors in September 2023.   

Deepnude apps allow users to virtually undress a woman, using AI to manipulate an image or video of a woman to remove her clothing. Many apps only work on women.

Adolescents are now the most common perpetrators of child sexual abuse, according to new Australian research published in the International Journal of Child Abuse and Neglect.

"Even with all my experience, all my knowledge, all my protective measures and the amazing relationship I have with my daughter, I was still unable to stop her from being exposed to pornography at a too young age."

The following account was shared with us by a parent via our Kids Exposed page. 

Children are routinely exposed to porn. At school, on the school bus, the school camp, the sleepover at a friend’s house. It can happen at home too – and even when they aren’t searching for it, porn will find them. That’s the business model of the global porn industry – to build the next generation of consumers.

Despite a solid body of evidence now on the many ways early porn exposure harms our young people, the Federal Government has refused to implement a trial of an age verification system as one obstacle in the way of children being exposed. A pilot program was recommended by its own eSafety Commissioner – but the Government, which is supposed to care about its most vulnerable citizens – said no.

We don’t accept that. And we know the majority of Australian parents don’t either. We think our Government needs to hear the devastating stories of Australian parents whose children were exposed. Are you one of them? If so, please tell us:

• How did porn find your child?
• How was your child affected?
• What did it mean for you and your family?

We will get your stories to the Communications Minister Michelle Rowland and demand urgent action to protect our kids. 

As much as 90% of pornographic content online features verbal, physical and sexual violence towards women, and a significant amount of violence shown is punishable under existing laws in France, a report by the government-nominated equality watchdog has found.

The report said: “The women are real, the sexual acts and the violence is real, the suffering is often perfectly visible and at the same time eroticised.”

A significant amount of content amounted to torture. 

Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette, the head of the French equality watchdog, told France Inter radio there was “no reason in 2023 to tolerate these illegal acts of unbearable torture” which were being shown to minors. She called pornography “a school for sexual violence” which must stop.