Specialists in different fields address the impact of digital pornography on children and adolescents in the I Conference on Sexual Violence

The inauguration of this event, organized by the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands, was attended by the Secretary of State for Equality and for the Eradication of Violence against Women, Aina Calvo.

About 300 people gathered this Thursday in the auditorium of the building of Son Lledó of the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), to participate in the I Conference on Sexual Violence, which in its broadcast by streaming are followed by more than 500 internauts. The Secretary of State for Equality and for the Eradication of Violence against Women, Aina Calvo, has participated in the opening ceremony of these sessions organized by the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands, together with the delegate, Alfonso Rodríguez Badal, and the rector of the UIB, Jaume Carot.

Calvo highlighted the “crucial moment” represented by the imminent revision of the State pact against Gender Violence and pointed out the importance, within this process, of “keeping digital violence very much in mind as one of the forms of manifestation that we will have to address with specific measures”. The Secretary of State for Equality, who took advantage of the meeting to publicize the campaign launched by the Ministry of Equality on the consumption of pornography on the Internet by children and adolescents, has also pointed out that, to face the impact of this phenomenon, “training, coeducation and awareness are fundamental, in which the Third Sector and organized civil society play a fundamental role.”

For his part, the government delegate has stressed that the professionalization of the mechanisms and protocols for prevention and protection against sexual exploitation through technology is an indispensable tool for a good affective education in childhood and adolescence. “We are fortunate to have professionals who have been studying for many years to obtain data on the real situation, because without an accurate diagnosis it is more difficult to find solutions,” said Alfonso Rodríguez Badal.

This first edition, entitled “Digital pornography: gateway to prostitution”, has aroused enormous interest among professionals related to this field, given the importance of this phenomenon today. Addressing this issue is a State issue, as the organizers of the conference have pointed out, which aims to address the issue from prevention through affective, sexual and digital education, protection against problematic consumption and the prosecution of crimes related to sexual violence.

Studio and round table

The first of the two days was attended by Tasia Aranguez, professor of Philosophy of Law at the University of Granada and specialist in legal feminism and legal argumentation, and in women’s right to health, whose presentation focused on the so-called uberization of pornography, through social media platforms and how interaction in these spaces leads to a “false empowerment”. Precisely, Laura Barrios, president of the Federation of Young Women of the Observatory of Sexual Violence, presents today, in this forum, the study “Only Fans. A whitewashed space of the sex business.”

Also, this Thursday, UIB professors Lluis Ballester and Sandra Sedano spoke, who have developed an exhaustive research on the impact of pornography on childhood and adolescence and who continue the line of study on this phenomenon. In addition, representatives of the Fiscal Ministry, National Police, Civil Guard, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) and the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) have addressed in a round table the actions to combat sexual violence with which the need for coordinated intervention between the different institutions is highlighted. The monologue “Porn and Prostitution Look for Girls from the Crowd”, by the humorist and playwright Patricia Sornosa, will close today.

The 1st Conference on Sexual Violence is supported by the Ministry of Territorial Policy and the Ministry of Equality, through the State Pact against Gender Violence, as well as with the collaboration of the UIB, through its Office for Equal Opportunities between Women and Men.