March 2025: Addressing Gender-Based Violence Perpetrated by the Porn Industry

Culture Reframed is the premier science-based, global organization working to stop the emotional, behavioral, and sexual harms of pornography to children and youth. Join our online community to receive updates on our work, announcements of upcoming events, and the latest news related to pornography and youth.

This Women’s History Month, we dedicate our newsletter to the powerful women leading the fight to keep kids safe online. At Culture Reframed, our team, composed mostly of women, is led by Dr. Gail Dines who has been a leader in bringing recognition of the porn crisis into the mainstream. As a sex-positive, porn-critical organization, we work every day toward fostering healthy sexualities in youth and ending the gender-based violence perpetrated by the porn industry.

We’re pleased to share with you our latest resources designed to support the protection of young people against the harmful effects of hypersexualized media and pornography.

For Children’s Advocacy Centers and advocates, we’ve designed a comprehensive resource library with an array of tools to help parents and professionals protect children from abuse. Learn how the materials were created, and the critical purpose they serve in our interview with Joshua Bissell, Director of Multidisciplinary Training and Initiatives at CACs of Michigan.

Next month, we’re looking forward to discussing actionable ways to address sexual violence with two incredible sex education experts at our free webinar on April 10. Learn more and register below!

We hope you’ll explore these opportunities and encourage you to share them with your network. Thank you for doing your part to help us reframe the conversation about the porn crisis.

— Maggie Daman
Director of Operations, Culture Reframed

In our latest Q&A, Joshua Bissell discusses his work as part of a multidisciplinary task force that helped Culture Reframed create the new resources for CAC teams, and how they provide a pathway toward a safer future for children and families. As the Director of Multidisciplinary Training and Initiatives for CACs of Michigan, Bissell leads efforts to enhance statewide child abuse response protocols, policies, and training.

One in five girls and one in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse. Still, sexual assault is preventable, and one effective method is porn-critical sex education. On Thursday, April 10, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET, join Culture Reframed’s Dr. Mandy Sanchez and sex education experts Amy Lang and Kerri Isham for a free webinar on sexual assault prevention and how you can help.

The conversation will explore:

• Why sexual health education must be taught early and proactively, not reactively
• What children need to know and when
• How to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy sexual behaviors
• Why and how to include neurodivergent children in the conversation

In this clip, Josh Bissell (Children’s Advocacy Centers of Michigan) and Detective Sergeant Gerald Yott (Michigan State Police Department) discuss actions that families can take to help keep kids safe online. This conversation is one example of the many tools among the free CAC resources, which also includes screening questions for medical professionals, fact sheets for parents and caregivers, and much more.

The UK government released an independent assessment of the harms and existing regulations of pornography, as well as recommendations for government and regulatory bodies.

A few of the critical recommendations include:

• Increasing accountability and onus on platforms for harmful pornographic content
• Strengthening enforcement of pornography offences
• Future-proofing against tech-enabled harms
• Creating a culture of positive masculinity

“For too long the pornography industry has operated with impunity,” says Gemma Kelly, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for the Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE). “This review is both a wakeup call, and an opportunity for the UK government to finally stand up to the pornography industry and introduce regulation that will help put an end to the harms of industrial-scale exploitation. ”

Here’s where you can find the Culture Reframed team next month:

Victim Advocate and Mental Health Partnership Peer Forum
April 17 | 1–2:30 pm ET | Virtual

Google, Amazon, Others Respond to Senators’ Inquiry About Funding CSAM via Ads (Ad Week)

Big tech companies respond to a bipartisan demand for answers following an Adalytics report revealing that ads from Fortune 500 brands appeared on sites hosting child sexual abuse material. Read more.

Utah Becomes the First State to Pass Legislation Requiring App Stores to Verify Ages (AP News)

The legislation will require parental consent for each new app download on a minor’s device—putting the onus on app store giants Apple and Google rather than social media platforms. Read more.

Mandatory Sex Education for 18-Year-Olds Could Be Lifesaving, MP Says (Independent UK)

UK Member of Parliament Zarah Sultana appeals for the continuation of sex education into late teens to help youth identify abusive relationships at this critical age. Read more.

Legal Fight Against AI-Generated Child Pornography Is Complicated – a Legal Scholar Explains Why, and How the Law Could Catch Up (The Conversation)

Examine the US courts’ history thus far to incorporate the present reality of AI-generated images with existing CSAM laws. Read more.

Culture Reframed speakers share the latest knowledge and resources that help young people build resilience and resistance to hypersexualized media and pornography. Our experts are available for in-person and virtual events, podcast discussions, interviews, and other opportunities.

Sign up here to receive updates on our work, announcements of upcoming events, and the latest news related to pornography and youth