Child exposure to pornography expands during pandemic

Isolation.
Boredom.
Electronic device.
Three key ingredients often cited as contributors to young people being exposed to pornography, often as early as 11 years old.
Those factors have taken on more significance during the COVID-19 pandemic when students are at home, often by themselves because of virtual learning, and are likely contributing to a rise in pornographic viewing among young people.
“Helping parents deal with (their children being exposed to pornography) is going to be really important,” said Darryl Ducote, director of the Office of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Baton Rouge.
Assisting parents whose children have been exposed is the focus of Year Two of Save Haven Sunday, scheduled Feb. 27-28. Year One, which debuted in 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic, raised the issue of children viewing pornography.
Ducote said the second year of the three-year program developed by internet monitoring company Covenant Eyes in conjunction with the Archdiocese of New Orleans focuses on providing resources to help parents so they can help their children.
“The reason the focus is on the parents is because the parents are in the best position to deal with this early on,” Ducote said. “The point here is pornography does some devastating things to the kids, primarily creating a sense of shame. They start to follow up with it and as a result of their shame they disconnect from their family and parents. 
“Part of the goal of Save Haven Sunday is to make parents aware this is a serious issue and to equip them to deal with this in the home so it is addressed before it comes a serious issue, sometimes carrying over into adulthood and marriage, where it can have devastating effects.”
Ducote said several resources are readily available for parents, including a booklet – “CONFIDENT Helping Parents Navigate Online Exposure” – that will be distributed Save Haven weekend providing parents concrete direction on what steps to follow when they learn their child has been exposed. Tips include preparing parents to discuss the issue with their children, offering direct guidance on having that conversation with their children and following up on an ongoing basis. 
“One of the things parents may have to deal with, and this could cause a lot of rift between kids, is taking phones away in the beginning so they do not have access to them,” Ducote said. “That is part of the way the booklet can help, so kids are not at risk.
“It’s a difficult problem.”
Another accessible resource is the website cleanheartsonline.com, which has created an individual homepage for each diocese participating in Save Haven Sunday.
“Click on the Diocese of Baton Rouge and there are incredible resources for parents, clergy, parish ministers, educators, men, women,” Ducote said. “It’s just amazing what they have put together, and they continue to update that.”
Clergy members will also find suggested homilies addressing the issue, as well as suggested Prayers of the Faithful and bulletin announcements.
“It saves the clergy a lot of time and work,” Ducote said. 
Pornography among older adults is also becoming an increasing problem, Ducote said, because many older adults, especially during these times of quarantine working from home, are feeling lonely and bored. He said he is constantly amazed how easy it is for people to have access to pornographic sites, even when they are not trying.
“It’s such a profitable industry that those involved are looking for ways to have it connect people innocently looking for something online and something connects them to porn site,” he said. “It happens when people are not really expecting it.”
Ducote sees the church as playing a critical role because pornography can be so damaging to children and parents. He said the church can support parents and provide them with the necessary resources. 
“I think that’s the rationale for doing this as a diocese,” Ducote said. “This is an important ministry for the church and to do it on a diocesan level gives cover to the priests to address a very sensitive issue. Everybody is doing it at the same time on behalf of the diocese.”