“Access to pornography is a serious attack on the mental health and psychological integrity of children.”

Minors are massively exposed to pornographic content. At the top of search results on sexuality, free, accessible from the age of first mobile phone, pornography is today the primary source of "sex education" for adolescents. In France, 51% of boys aged 11-12 regularly consume pornography . For them, this exposure is often involuntary and part of a ritual of virile socialization.

However, pornography depicts acts of extreme violence, misogynistic and racist insults, torture scenes, and even pedophilia. An analysis of 50 of the most viewed videos shows that 88% of them feature physical assaults against women. The most used keywords on major platforms refer to pedophilia, violence, or racist practices . These acts, although criminally reprehensible, are sexualized. The confusion between sexuality and violence is thus deeply and early on ingrained in people's minds.

Pornography alters perceptions of relationships between men and women. In the United Kingdom, a study shows that boys exposed to this content are 3.3 times more likely to engage in violent sexual behavior. In the same country, another survey reveals that 42% of boys believe that most girls enjoy acts of sexual aggression. A Spanish study reveals that women who consume pornography are four times more likely to be victims of sexual violence.A 2016 scientific meta-analysis also highlighted a correlation between pornography consumption and gender-based and sexual violence.

Access to pornography is a serious attack on the mental health and psychological integrity of children. Assimilation of the pornographic message is achieved through pleasure: the release of dopamine linked to masturbation leads to increasing tolerance, pushing the search for ever more extreme images. Exposure to this content during adolescence, a key period of brain development, reinforces impulses and inhibits regulation and empathy. Researcher Maria Hernandez-Mora Ruiz del Castillo describes this exposure as " psychological rape " inflicted on children.

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