Boris Johnson Appointee Blames 'Porn' for Sexual Harassment in U.K. Schools

Boris Johnson Appointee Blames 'Porn' for Sexual Harassment in U.K. Schools

LONDON — Several government watchdog organizations and officials in the U.K., including England’s new “Children’s Commissioner,” are currently conducting a campaign to address reports of an “epidemic of sexual harassment” in public and private schools, with much of the blame placed on online porn.

Last week, a report by Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills) revealed that many school-age Britons considered that “sexual harassment and online sexual abuse are such a routine part of their daily lives [that] they don’t see any point in challenging or reporting it.”

Dame Rachel de Souza, an educator appointed last December by the Boris Johnson administration, told British media on Monday, in reaction to the report, that “we can’t ignore that, nor should we.”

However, instead of addressing the centuries-old British culture of sexualized hazing in schools, or parental responsibilities, or the need for a program of non-shame-based sex education, de Souza claimed that “one area I’m clear on is that online hardcore pornography warps boys’ expectations of normal relationships and normalizes behaviors that girls are then expected to accept, and it’s just too easy for children to access.”

A Conservative Catholic Who Won't Condemn Corporal Punishment

De Souza received a Catholic education at Jesus College, Oxford and served as a principal of the Ormiston Victory Academy, where the curriculum is based on “British values.” She was appointed by the Tory government of Boris Johnson and immediately caused controversy by refusing to join her peers in Scotland and Wales in pledging a commitment to banning corporal punishment in schools.

Johnson, her political boss, is an alum of Eton, a private school with numerous documented incidents of sexual abuse of students dating back to the Middle Ages, long before the advent of “internet pornography.” Most recently, around the time Johnson appointed de Souza as “Children’s Commissioner,” an Eton teacher was jailed for sexual offenses against his pupils.

On Monday, de Souza called for enforced age verification to access adult content by claiming that “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?”

Christian Groups Praise de Souza, Abstinence

The Christian Institute’s Deputy Director for Public Affairs Simon Calvert, according to his organization’s news outlet, praised de Souza and “blamed the sex education industry for being ‘obsessed with explicitness and hostile to the Christian sexual ethic.’”

“If kids are being told in school that using pornography is normal and healthy, as many sex education professionals say, how can we be surprised when they use it and then try to act it out?” said Calvert.

Calvert urged Ofsted to “ensure that teaching includes opportunities to explain the benefits of self-control and marriage.”

However, even The Guardian — a nominally progressive outlet that regularly stigmatizes sex workers and makes sweeping, inaccurate statements about the adult industry — reported that “experts warned that blanket porn blocks may be neither effective nor helpful,” citing Ruth Eliot, a sexual violence prevention specialist at the School of Sexuality Education.

“Abstinence-based education around sexuality has never worked,” Eliot told the Guardian. “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.”

Main Image: Boris Johnson appointee Dame Rachel de Souza

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

GoFundMe Set Up for Danny Ferretti's Medical Expenses

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for Fangear founder Danny Ferretti, who requires extensive lung surgery.

Byborg Acquires Cuties AI

Byborg Enterprises has acquired adult artificial intelligence startup Cuties AI.

Irish Government Releases Report on Sex Work Decriminalization Legislation

The Irish government has released a report reviewing a 2017 law that decriminalized sex work across the country.

Texas Bill Would Require Age Verification for Online Sex Toy Sales

A new bill in the Texas state legislature would require online retailers to implement age verification of purchasers before selling “obscene devices” to anyone in that state.

New York Assemblyman Proposes Banning the Term 'Sex Work'

Republican New York Assembly Member Brian Maher has introduced a bill to prohibit the use of the term "sex work" in government documents.

Age Verification Watch: Michigan Joins the AV Club, Some Laws Just Make No Sense

This roundup provides an update on the latest news and developments on the age verification front as it impacts the adult industry.

Free Speech Groups Back SCOTUS Appeal of Georgia Strip Club Tax

Two civil liberties organizations filed an amicus brief Tuesday supporting a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal in a case involving whether a tax specifically aimed at adult entertainment establishments violates the First Amendment.

Creator Networking App 'Plaiir' Launches

Plaiir, a mobile networking app for creators, has officially launched.

Swedish Court Rules LELO Products Do Not Infringe 'Invalid' Satisfyer Patent

A Swedish district court has ruled that a patent filed by Satisfyer parent company EIS GmbH is not valid, and therefore three products from pleasure brand LELO are not in violation.

North Dakota House Committee Questions Anti-Porn 'Public Health Hazard' Claim

The North Dakota House of Representatives Education Committee on Monday amended a resolution that would have recognized pornography as a “public health hazard,” instead replacing that language with a call for further study into whether such a designation is appropriate.

Show More