The Children’s Hearing system has seen a huge increase in child-on-child sexual abuse in recent years. Whether it is for downloading indecent images of children, rape, domestic violence, sexual assault or the like, how many of the people coming before the criminal justice system have a problematic relationship with pornography?

Out-of-control pornography use is also becoming more of an issue in family law cases too. Since 2008 the internet has made access to free, streaming, apparently anonymous
hardcore pornography available to anyone with a smartphone, children included. In 2018 the World Health Organisation introduced a new classification of compulsive
sexual behaviour disorder (CSBD). Over 83 per cent of people seeking treatment for it have reported pornography as the cause, leading to sexual dysfunctions in young men
and high levels of depression and social anxiety. More young women are using pornography than ever before too. How does that affect the question of ‘consent’ in criminal trials when pornography encourages women to ask for sexual strangulation in order to gain a bigger sexual thrill?

To help professionals understand pornography’s impact on health, behaviour and criminality, the Reward Foundation has developed a 6-hour set of training modules that was accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners since 2017. It is worth 6 CPD points.

The course is – for the first time – now available for free to help spread the message.

No pornography is shown. It’s suitable for healthcare practitioners, criminal justice professionals, guidance teachers, journalists, chaplains and anyone who works with people who may be affected by it. 

The online course consists of three-and-a-half hours of short videos, research papers, articles and quizzes. Former advocate Mary Sharpe interviews six world class health experts about pornography’s impact on the brain, on children and adolescents, on intimate partner violence, in stable couples, and in single people. It provides diagnostic tools from the simple to the sophisticated and suggests treatment options based on the latest research and clinical opinion. It is the only resource of its kind in the world.

Access the free course here