WHY IS PORNPROOFING NECESSARY?

According to research studies, exposure to pornography harms children in many ways – for example:

• Pornography teaches children that women are sex objects and that violent and extreme sexual behavior is OK

• It negatively impacts a child’s brain development and leads to porn addiction

• Pornography leads to sexual abuse of self and others, sexual risk-taking and acting out sexually

For more information about the harms of pornography, CLICK HERE

STEP 1 : SECURE THE SOURCE

The company that provides you access to the internet via a cellular/wireless (mobile) or a fibre (cable) connection is called an ISP – Internet Service Provider. Some of these service providers offer blocking and filtering of pornography.

Step one would be to rather choose an ISP that offers protection over one that doesn’t.

First-time internet users / users of new mobile devices:

If you do not yet have a fibre or mobile connection to the internet, before selecting an ISP or mobile network provider, find out whether the ISP’s service includes blocking/filtering of adult content.

Existing fibre and wireless connections / Existing users of mobile devices:

If you already have a fibre or mobile connection to the internet, ask your current ISP whether they provide blocking/filtering of adult content. If they don’t, consider switching to an ISP that does provide adult content blocking/filtering.

For more details about ISP-level filtering and blocking, CLICK HERE

STEP 2 : SECURE THE WIFI

Once inside your walls, data is distributed to end user devices via a WIFI router. This can be secured with an additional layer of filtering and blocking at the DIRECTORY NAME SERVERS or DNS level.

Step two would be to sign up to a cloud-based software solution.

If you do not yet have DNS-level blocking/filtering software for your router, explore and activate one of the following software solutions:

For a more comprehensive list of DNS-level filtering software, CLICK HERE

STEP 3 : SECURE END USER DEVICES

Children access the internet and receive data content via hand-held mobile or desktop devices, like laptops, computers, tablets, and smart phones. These can be school property or personal devices.

Each individual device needs to be secured with software such as Qustodio, Covenant Eyes or Netnanny etc. to ensure that they are protected even if they make use of alternative network services, such as an unsecured Wifi connection at a public venue or a friend’s house or via an ISP that does not provide blocking / filtering of adult content.

Step three therefore is installing and managing on-device filtering and blocking software for all devices used by children at school or at home.

Once outside of your protected school or home network (where children access the internet via a router), your child’s device could still access the internet via an unsecured alternative internet access service.

That is why it is crucial that every end user device is protected with appropriate blocking or filtering software.

Below are a few of the software solutions available to schools and parents :

For a more comprehensive list of device-level filtering software, CLICK HERE

STEP 4 : DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT ROBUST AND EFFECTIVE SCHOOL POLICY OR HOUSE RULES

Step four is developing and implementing a simple but robust digital usage and safety policy to clarify the roles, responsibilities and accountability structures, that will guide parents and teachers in keeping both the school environment and its learners safe from harm.

For assistance with the development of robust and effective digital usage and safety policies  (for your school)  and house rules  (for your home), drop us a mail on our contact page.

STEP 5 : CULTURE / VALUES / ETHOS

Step five is a healthy culture of values that grounds all the above in Love, Respect, Dignity and Accountability.

If you require assistance with establishing and maintaining a healthy values-based culture in your school community or home, contact CASE-SA via our contact page.

MAINTAINING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT

How will we know if these steps are successful? We will follow through with :

1. Regular awareness training to parents and teachers to equip them –

2. To educate and empower children to reject and respond appropriately to pornography exposure, and

3. Periodical evaluation of the effectiveness of the porn-proofing programme.

To maintain a porn-proof school and home environment over time, we have to regularly (at least once a year):

1. Review policies and house rules

2. Review the practical implementation of policies and rules, including IT security systems reviews
3. Provide awareness training to parents and teachers

4. Educate and empower children

#Parent Talk: Children and Pornography

CASE-SA’s ‘#Parent Talk: Children and Pornography’ is an ideal awareness training opportunity for parents and teachers.

Contact us  to book a Parent Talk at your school.

Brain-Heart-World Documentary

A screening of the  ‘Brain-Heart-World Documentary’  by Fight the New Drug, is ideal to educate and empower children with knowledge on the harms of pornography, how to prevent but also respond to exposure and how to recover from the effects of exposure.  Contact us  to book a screening at your school.

Valuable Resources

If you are a parent or teacher and want to know more about how to talk to children about pornography, take a look at our resources page for helpful tools and information.  CLICK HERE

RESPONDING TO THE IMPACT OF PORNOGRAPHY:

Because the average age of first exposure to pornography is around age 10, there will be many schools and homes that have already felt the destructive effects of pornography in their midst.

In some instances, it may be possible for the school or family to self-correct by taking appropriate action to remove the influence of pornography and recover from the effects of exposure.

In other cases, the road to recovery may need to include recourse to professional or external help of some kind.

If your school or home has already been affected by the harms of pornography, see our recommended   RESOURCES   on how to intervene in the best interest of children.

99% PORN PROOF

Unfortunately, not even the very best interventions in the world to protect children against exposure to pornography, are failsafe.

Despite best efforts on the part of schools, teachers and parents, there will always be a percentage of children who are exposed to pornography inadvertently or who find novel ways to access it intentionally.

Although we consider the ‘Porn-proofing’ plan to be an effective way to protect children against inadvertent exposure and even intentional accessing (to a large extent), we cannot guarantee that schools and families who implement the plan will have a ZERO % exposure rate.

We can however guarantee that children from schools and homes that have been ‘porn-proofed’ are a lot less likely to be exposed to pornography (and suffer the consequent harmful effects) than children who find themselves in an unprotected environment.

And schools and families who are able to say as much, will have much to celebrate !