Cameron backs website move to target child ‘pornification’

A website to help parents complain about what campaigners have dubbed the “pornification” of children should be put in place within months ahead of a national summit on the issue, the Prime Minister said.

The measure is among the recommendations made today in a Government-commissioned review of the sexualisation and commercialisation of young people carried out by Mothers’ Union chief executive Reg Bailey.

Mr Cameron also backed moves to make it easier to block adult content on mobile phones, ban raunchy billboard posters near schools and bar the use of youngsters to market products.

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And he said he would summon retailers, advertisers, broadcasters, magazine editors, video games and music industry chiefs and regulators for a summit in October to discuss progress.

Under the changes proposed by Mr Bailey, steamy pop videos would be restricted to older teens and later television slots; magazines featuring sexualised images would be covered up on shelves.

An option to request adult material be barred from any new home internet service, laptop or mobile phone should also be introduced and parents given more say in the TV watershed guidelines.

In response to demands for restrictions on inappropriate children’s clothing – including lace lingerie and push-up bras – the British Retail Consortium has launched stricter guidelines which advise retailers that “fabrics and cut should provide for modesty” and “slogans and imagery must be age appropriate and without undesirable associations or connotations”.

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They also advise that skirt length and neckline “need careful consideration” and underwear ranges need “the utmost care in design”.

The guidelines state: “Knickers and pants must provide modesty: thongs are not appropriate for children.”

Nine stores – Asda, Debenhams, Argos, John Lewis, Next, Marks & Spencer, Peacocks, Sainsbury’s and Tesco – have signed up with others being urged to participate.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said: “These guidelines are an example of how businesses have listened to the concerns of their customers and found solutions that are sensible, appropriate and proportionate, and that they are more than capable of playing their part in building the family-friendly society we all want to see.”

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Mr Bailey said he hoped his review would help tear down the sexual “wallpaper” surrounding young people and give parents a stronger voice in regulation.

Welcoming the report, Mr Cameron told him in a letter it represented “a giant step forward for protecting childhood and making Britain more family-friendly”.

The six-month review took evidence from more than 2,000 parents and 500 young people as well as 120 separate organisations. Mr Cameron said he was particularly keen to see rapid progress on a centralised online tool for parents to report inappropriate material or products as it “not only seems entirely sensible, but also relatively easy and simple to introduce”.

Mr Bailey said: “Regulators, businesses and broadcasters should do more to connect with parents – it’s not enough for them to work out what is acceptable from what people complain about afterwards. I hope that they see that it’s good business if you look out for families. Then we can all help to make Britain a more family-friendly place.”

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The Advertising Standards Authority and communications regulator Ofcom said they were determined to ensure parents had a sufficiently powerful voice.

The Bailey report said the website was needed to help parents to cope with the large number of different regulators with responsibility and should say clearly and simply what parents could do if they felt a programme or service was inappropriate for their children.

A forum allowing anonymous comments could also act as an extra gauge of opinion, it suggested.

Justine Roberts, who co-founded the Mumsnet website, said: “Our Let Girls be Girls campaign, the Bailey review and the new retail code of conduct show the power ordinary people can wield when they speak out forcefully on forums like Mumsnet against the pornification of our culture.”