Dame Rachel de Souza is urging governments and tech companies to introduce age verification checks.

She warned that access to hardcore pornography was shaping children's expectations of relationships and was partly to blame for thousands of testimonies of sexual harassment by schoolchildren published on the Everyone's Invited website over the last few months.

The testimonies prompted Ofsted to carry out a review of what was happening in schools. Its report, published last week, revealed that inspectors found sexual harassment and online sexual abuse to be a routine part of pupils' lives.

"We can't ignore that, nor should we," de Souza told the Observer.

"One area I'm clear on is that online hardcore pornography warps boys' expectations of normal relationships and normalises behaviours that girls are then expected to accept, and it's just too easy for children to access."

"Most children who have seen pornography say the first time it was accidental.

"In the real world, adults wouldn't leave something dangerous or inappropriate lying around for children to stumble upon - why should the internet be different?"

Recently, in her role as a member of the Gender Equality Advisory Council, she brought up the subject with G7 leaders.

She wants a focus on effective age verification online.

"Nobody thinks the acceptable price of privacy and freedom of choice for adults should be unrestricted access to porn for children," she said.

However, experts warned that blanket porn blocks may be neither effective nor helpful. Ruth Eliot, a sexual violence prevention specialist at the School of Sexuality Education, which runs workshops in schools, said that trying to stop young people from finding online porn was "a fool's errand".

"Abstinence-based education around sexuality has never worked. Young people choose to watch porn as a result of a perfectly natural and normal curiosity about sexuality.

"Instead of policing that, we should upskill them on how to experience porn in a way that makes them understand the cultural context and that it's not an instruction manual."

Ellena Martellozzo, an associate professor of criminology at Middlesex University, said her research showed that the priority should be on preventing children from accessing violent porn accidentally.

This kickstarts a cycle in which they shift from seeing it as "shocking" and "disgusting" to developing an interest in it.

"Children rely on porn to learn about sex and relationships when what they see isn't a healthy way of viewing relationships at all," she said. "Pornography is one of many risk factors that can lead to sexual violence." Continue reading

• Image: The Guardian

Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz (97) has been ordered to compensate his alleged victims.

The Vatican's nunciature in Poland says Gulbinowicz was disciplined after "allegations regarding the cardinal's past" were investigated.

Last year a Polish newspaper published an article by a man who accused Gulbinowicz of sexually abusing him when he was a minor in the 1990s and a student in a Catholic seminary.

"As a result of inquiries into accusations against Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz, and after analyzing other charges concerning his past, the Holy See has taken disciplinary measures," the Vatican's nunciature in Warsaw says.

"He is barred from any kind of celebration or public meeting and from using his episcopal insignia, and is deprived of the right to a cathedral funeral and burial," the nunciature's brief statement says.

It did not offer any details as to why the steps were being taken.

The announcement follows an 18-month investigation into abuse claims against the 97-year-old retired Polish cardinal.

Gulbinowicz, who is the oldest of Poland's six cardinals, headed the Archdiocese of Wroclaw for 28 years until his 2004 retirement.

He has been widely praised in the past for his human rights advocacy during Poland's communist era.

The statement says Gulbinowicz would be required to pay an "appropriate sum" to the St. Joseph Foundation.

The Foundation was established by the Polish bishops' conference last November to assist abuse victims and coordinate abuse prevention and child protection.

Accusations against Gulbinowicz were made in a May 2019 TV film, "Just Tell No One," by a former Catholic student, Przemyslaw Kowalczyk.

In the film Kowalczyk says he was sent to the Wroclaw curia in 1989.

Archdiocesan spokesman Father Rafal Kowalski says Rome was informed of the accusations in September 2019. Other students and former associates of the cardinal also had submitted information, he says.

"We have to say we're sorry."

"There is an intention to clear up these issues and judge, so people who have hurt others are punished."

In a March 2019 report church officials agreed there had been "a certain ignorance" of canonical rules against abuse, as well as "differences of reliability" between dioceses and religious orders.

They said abuse prevention programmes have now been introduced and diocesan staff have been trained to combat abuse and assist victims.

Poland's Catholic Church has been beset by scandals recently.

Last month Pope Francis accepted Bishop Edward Janiak's resignation after claims in another film he had violated Polish law and Vatican guidelines by brushing aside sexual abuse allegations against local priests.

In February 2020, Auxiliary Bishop Jan Szkodon was suspended and ordered to leave his see after being publicly accused in a newspaper of abusing an underage girl.

In addition, an investigation into Bishop Andrzej Dziuba of Lowicz is underway for failing to report alleged clergy sexual abuse.

Besides this, the Vatican nunciature said last week that it will be inquiring into retired Archbishop Slawoj Glodz for covering up sexual harassment claims.

Source

• US News
• The Dialog
• Image: Polish News

This is such a common occurrence in the lives of women that few were startled at the sheer numbers of #MeToo postings.

Live long enough while being female and it will happen to you.

#NotMe is a movement that will never catch on.

What is different this time is that more men are listening, that accused men who were protected by their prominence are nonetheless being shamed and getting fired, and that the white-hot spotlight is trained on the entertainment industry.

Time magazine's persons of the year for 2017 were the Silence Breakers, women who "finally" blew the whistle on men who abused women who worked for them.

"Finally," because in nearly every case, the offensive behavior had long been discussed in certain circles, just not told to all of America.

The titillation of those perpetrator names also being household names drove the movement, which would not have taken off at all had the names been those of guys who lived down the street.

But here's the thing.

Statistically, sexual harassment is probably no more prevalent in film studios than it is in politicians' offices and national sports league locker rooms and newsrooms and restaurant kitchens, and no more prevalent among famous, powerful men than among the men working where you work.

A 2015 survey by Cosmopolitan magazine found that 1 in 3 women is sexually harassed at work.

An October 2017 ABC News-Washington Post poll reports sexual harassment at epidemic proportions, happening to more than half of all women.

That's 33 million American women, and 95 percent of them report that the perpetrators go unpunished.

Most harassers are coworkers, clients, customers, and managers, in that order.

Harassment is most common in food service and hospitality, retail, and arts and entertainment in a tie with STEM industries (science, technology, engineering, and math).

It's bad in entertainment because it's bad everywhere.

All those numbers are far too low, claims the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), estimating that what's reported is only one fourth of the reality.

Harassment is bad business, costing companies millions in job turnover, sick leave, and decreased productivity.

And, adds the EEOC, sexual harassment seminars are colossally ineffective.

The reason seminars don't work is the reason women speaking up doesn't typically work. Continue reading

• Pamela Hill Nettleton is an assistant professor at Marquette University, where she teaches media studies and journalism and researches domestic violence coverage in media as well as masculinity and gender in media.
• Image: St Lawrence University

They say the the church must take a lead in tackling the issue.

Jayne Ozanne, a senior member of the church's ruling general synod, wrote to the Guardian newspaper about the problem.

She said harassment within the Church is "manifold" and present "at virtually every level of the hierarchy".

Her letter says "abuse of power, particularly in relation to sexual misdemeanours, will never be dealt with by those within the same said power structures".

"The urge to protect one's reputation is too strong, as is the human inclination to believe one's 'mates' rather than an unknown protagonist set on 'causing trouble'".

Ozanne urged the church to lead the way in addressing the scandal.

This would involve setting up an independent process where people can raise concerns and allegations of assault.

Using the #MeToo hashtag on Twitter, a number of female clergy and lay members of the church have indicated they have experienced sexual harassment or assault.

The hashtag has become well-known recently as Hollywood movie stars have used it to show they have been victims of sexual misconduct in the film industry.

The clergy disclosing harassment and abuse in this way include Jo Bailey Wells, the bishop of Dorking.

Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester and the first female bishop to sit in the House of Lords, says recent Hollywood publicity shows how widespread sexual harassment is in society.

"I think it's an issue in society and therefore we would be naive if we thought it wasn't also an issue in the church.

"The danger is when we imagine that the church is somehow an elite group of people. Yes, we are trying to be followers of Jesus Christ and therefore we should be aspiring to living our lives differently.

"But actually we are all human beings.

"The danger is if we begin to think it doesn't exist in the C of E [Church of England]. Of course it does. We need to ensure we have conversations to ensure people can come forward and will be taken seriously."

Source

• The Guardian
• Christian Today
• Image: Ms.JD

The two occupy different intellectual parts of the Catholic Church, and the television personality has made his disdain for some of the pope's positions known.

After Francis derided then-candidate Donald Trump's proposed border wall last year as "not Christian," O'Reilly took to the airwaves to push back on the pope.

At the time, he said, "I would suggest to Pope Francis, that millions of Americans have been harmed economically by our immigration system which desperately needs reform. I think I could persuade the pope that providing protection and enforcing settled law is certainly not un-Christian."

It's unlikely that O'Reilly ever got that chance to try to persuade the pope on Wednesday when he briefly shook hands with the pontiff in Rome while on vacation.

O'Reilly's dismissal from Fox News brings an end to his 20-year helm as a de-facto champion of the Religious Right in establishment Republican politics.

During his tenure, O'Reilly helped to shepherd the once-fringe right-wing movement into the heart of the GOP by marrying a religious movement with right-wing media.

O'Reilly regularly invoked religion as a part of his show and acted as an aggressive right-wing prophet decrying the elitist secular left.

Perhaps O'Reilly imagined himself as a modern-day King David, a prophet and psalmist, who with eloquence and persistence, would protect God's people from the Goliaths of today — most notably the left.

In O'Reilly's heyday, he was a mainstream champion of the Religious Right. His annual tirade against the "War on Christmas," fueled fear that a much-beloved holy day would be culturally cast aside for a mere "Happy Holidays."

In 2012, he said the left was "tying the Christmas situation into secular progressive politics." Why? Because they wanted "a new America, and traditional Christmas isn't a part of it." Continue reading

• Christopher Hale, a contributor to Fox and a columnist for TIME on faith, is the executive director of Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and the co-founder of Millennial.

I was pretty upset about that tape, but not because I am a prude or even that I am shocked that men talk like that.

When Billy Bush says "will you give him a hug" while holding back giggles, I remembered all the times that I was the girl who was the butt of jokes between boys and men.

I was upset that a man running for president would talk like this, but come on, it's Trump, I wasn't shocked.

He's been on Howard Stern talking about all kinds of sexual escapades, I heard them way before he was ever a household name because he is gonna make America so great again.

I heard the tape on the way to confession on Friday.

It was my wedding anniversary and my husband wanted to start our celebration with a clean slate by going to confession together. As we drove there I saw the story breaking and listened to the video.

I was flabbergasted and so was my husband.

I was so sure that this was it, Catholics would all see what they had been supporting this entire time and it would be over for Trump.

I had all faith that Catholic men would not stand for this kind of complete disregard for the dignity of women.

We went to confession, ran one last errand and then went to our favorite dive bar to have a few drinks before leaving town.

I have an issue with drinking when the memories of my trauma come up.

I can't do anything when that happens but sit at home look at a picture of Jesus on the cross and pray for the flashbacks to go away while my dog lays next to me to keep me safe.

I have done this a million times and if I even sense for a second that I am in anyway reliving what happened to me, I do not drink.

I didn't think that what Trump said would bring up any of it for me because I am Catholic now.

I have an army of Catholic men who are ready to protect me and other women.

My brothers in Christ will keep me from ever being the victim of another man's objectification. Maybe not all of them, but the ones that I know are pro-life do. Or so I thought. Continue reading

• Leticia Ochoa Adams is a writer, blogger, student, mother of 4, step-mom of 3 and grandmother of 2.

The allegations were made and then withdrawn when he was working at the University of the South Pacific, but he was "let go".

Director of Catholic Education Aeau Chris Hazelman said they were only made aware of the allegations against the man on last Tuesday.

The man was a former staff member at the University of the South Pacific but was "let go" following allegations "of a sexual nature" leveled against him by female USP students. The Samoa Observer understands that a complaint has been lodged with the Samoa Victim Support Group (SVSG).

President of the organization, Lina Chang confirmed that the complaint lodged with them is of a sexual harassment nature but she declined to discuss the details.

She said there had been allegations against him by students, mainly girls, but these were withdrawn.

USP interim Campus Director, Leatuaolevao Ruby Va'a confirmed that he was a staff member at the university "but he was never a teacher." She declined to confirm exactly whether the complaints from students were of sexual harassment. She said it was unfortunate that they were not given the chance to investigate.

"So we ended up with allegations," she said adding that they were "very serious."

A complaint was also not filed with the Police.

Source

• The Samoa Observer
• Image: Travel Magazine