Impact of online pornography on Violence Against Women and Girls

The new Government has made reducing violence against women and girls a priority (VAWG). More than 1m offences a year are recorded as VAWG, including sexual assault, stalking, harassment, domesCc violence, and controlling and coercive behaviour.

Increasingly, Male Violence Against Women and Girls is being waged online

The Women’s Policy Centre held a roundtable on 17th September 2024 at the House of Lords, hosted by Lord Bethell and chaired by HenrieQa Bowden Jones, OBE DL; the event drew leading experts from the worlds of psychiatry, addicCon and the law to discuss the best way to address online MVAWG. Laila Mickelwait, founder of the JusCce Defense Fund and bestselling author of “Take Down: Inside the Fight to Shut Down Porn Hub for Child Abuse, Rape and Sex Trafficking”, shared lessons from her campaign against one of the biggest porn sites in the world. Among the parCcipants were Prof Clare McGlynn KC, Durham University Law School; Joan Smith, former Adviser to the Mayor of London on MVAWG; Dr Lucie Moore, CEO of CEASE; Dr Paula Hall, CEO and Clinical Director of the Laurel Centre; Dr Rebecca Lockwood, NHS Consultant clinical psychologist; Onjali Q Rauf, Founder and CEO of Making HerStory; Tara Leathers, CEO of The Prudence Trust; Paola Diana, Chair of the Women’s Policy Centre and Cristina Odone, Senior Policy Adviser of the Women’s Policy Centre.