Viewing pornography should be regarded as a public health problem, MPs warned in late October.
The issue was raised by the Women and Equalities Committee, chaired by Maria Miller, which wants to launch a campaign to stop people consuming pornography, including a ban on watching it on public transport, which men have been witnessed doing.
The proposal was made that the government should take an evidence-based approach to addressing the harms of pornography, similar to the ‘huge investment there has been in tackling road safety, or preventing public health problems caused by smoking’.
Deeply ingrained
The committee found the government is failing to address sexual harassment in public that is ‘deeply ingrained’ in society. Harassment faced by women and girls in public places ‘is routine and sometimes relentless’ and it becomes ‘normalised’ as girls grow up, contributing to wider negative effects on society.
It also said that while the government has pledged to eliminate sexual harassment by 2030 under international obligations, there was no evidence of any programme to achieve this. Maria Miller said: ‘We have set out a series of practical measures that Government [and other public bodies] should implement immediately.’
