Experts recommend criteria to identify ethical pornography

A team of international experts led by the University of Sydney has identified six criteria that could be used to identify healthy and ethical pornography, with the aim of helping teachers and parents with consent education for young adults over 18. The University of Sydney-led research team brought together an international panel of experts including adolescent health experts, sexual health experts, sex educators, and pornography researchers to identify the criteria that could be used to find pornography that supports healthy sexual development. The team discovered that healthy pornography should have elements including: - A negotiation of consent onscreen Depictions of safe sex Ethical production A focus on pleasure for all participants A variety of sexual practices A variety of body types, genders, and races. The findings have been published in the International Journal of Sexual Health , the official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health, and they are revealed at a time when a new study from Curtin University found 90 percent of parents want more relationship and sexuality education, including literacy on pornography, in schools from as young as grade 7 and 8. The University of Sydney-led experts acknowledge it's a highly sensitive area and there is no suggestion that young people under the age of 18 should engage with pornography - this study focuses on providing resources for young adults aged 18-25. But they also recognise that Australian Institute of Family Studies research shows almost half (44 percent) of children aged 9-16 surveyed have already encountered sexual material online and there is a need to consider age-appropriate consent education resources.