IMO warns regulation critical to combat ‘malign force of pornography’

- Children as young as ten being exposed to extreme pornography which is fuelling sexual and gender-based violence

- Panel discussion on the problems posed by pornography taking place at IMO AGM in Killarney today (Friday)

- ‘The scale and pace of change in pornographic material compared to just a few short years ago has been overwhelming and disturbing’

 

Friday April 25, 2025. The Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) has warned that the introduction of regulation to safeguard children from increasingly extreme pornography is of critical societal importance, saying that children as young as ten are being exposed to violent and upsetting content on a regular basis.

 

Dr Madeleine Ní Dhálaigh, member of the GP Committee of the IMO, said that pornography today was fuelling sexual and gender-based violence, with aggressive anal penetrative intercourse which can be harmful for females and non-fatal strangulation among the acts being normalised and widely available to view online.

 

Dr Ní Dhálaigh is speaking at a panel discussion entitled ‘The Malign Force of Pornography in Fuelling Sexual and Gender Based Violence’ at the IMO AGM in Killarney today (Friday).

 

She said: “The scale and pace of change in pornographic material compared to just a few short years ago has been overwhelming and disturbing. Now, pornography increasingly features extreme acts including gender-based violence, which are not only potentially physically harmful to participants but also are changing the sexual norms in society among young people in particular.”

 

She said that regulation was critically important to ensure that children were not exposed to this material. “There is unfettered access to pornography online, and children as young as ten years old are viewing content which is both upsetting and deeply problematic.

 

“The impact on both young men and women has been profound, with many of them learning about sex from violent pornography. This informs young men to frequently push boundaries, have normalised coercion and condomless sex, and frequently disregard female pain and discomfort in order to satisfy male partners.

 

“The onus is on the Government to urgently introduce regulation which would prevent children from viewing this material.”