The Spanish government announced that it is preparing a “digital portfolio” that would limit access to “adult pornographic content”, allowing only those over the age of 18 to access such sites.

The government had already said months ago that it was working on a broad plan to curb what the president, Pedro Sánchez, described as “an epidemic”.

The plan will involve educational and preventive initiatives, but also technical tools to limit access to pornographic material.

Today, access to explicit sexual content on the Internet is immediate and unlimited.

Pornographic websites -a business that moves millions of euros a year- do not require any kind of accreditation certifying the age of the people who visit them.

The Spanish Minister for Digital Transformation, José Luis Escrivá, has defended the plan of the government through the social network X, where he acknowledged that there are still “aspects to be polished” in the plan, but that it is always better to “start by tackling the problem than doing nothing”.

La presentación de Cartera Digital Beta, la solución para que los menores no accedan a contenidos inadecuados, ha generado un vivo debate social, a veces jocoso, a veces serio. Está muy bien, porque el tema es importante. Veamos algunas de las dudas que veo que se plantean ?￰ﾟﾑﾇ

— José Luis Escrivá (@joseluisescriva) July 3, 2024

An announced failure?

Some technology experts have warned of the weakness of the government's proposal in several respects.

Firstly, the difficulty of implementing the verification system beyond websites hosted in Spain. Others consider that the system would be too easy to circumvent, or that it poses security and user traceability loopholes.

They also warn that preventing access to porn websites could lead teenagers to seek it in other areas -social media, direct messaging- which have less control over content and with greater exposure to harmful and even criminal contents.

A problem for minors

David Pérez Aragó is a Christian who has been leading OFF!, a Christian ministry to help free people from pornography addiction, for five years, focusing mainly on churches, but also with a presence in educational settings such as schools and secondary schools.

In conversation with Spanish news website Protestante Digital, Pérez explained some of the pros and cons of this government initiative.

“Culturally, porn is beginning to be seen as a problem for minors, at least. This is good news”, said Pérez, adding that it is contradictory that there are no restrictions for adults, because “some people think there can be a reasonable consumption of porn”.

The idea that pornography is 'not so bad' is widespread in Europe and stems from a lack of knowledge about how an industry that is destructive in many ways works.

What porn teaches

In 2020, the 2nd 'Pornography, Childhood and Women' congress emphasised that “pornography is a school of inequality between women and men in the 21st century”.

“The 'pornification' of culture is a reality that is transforming the media ecosystem that directly appeals to the way women and girls are today”, Leticia Porto, director of the congress, told Protestante Digital.

In adolescents and adults, the consumption of pornography - especially by men - leads to “serious relationship problems, disappointment in relationships, and compulsive personalities unable to control those impulses that affect their emotional, sensitive and affective development”, said Porto.

In a 2018 interview, British psychiatrist and author Glynn Harrison said that “the vast majority of children come to know and experience what sex is through pornography. And that's a big problem”.

He pointed out that porn “plays with the human heart and draws us to patterns we find it hard to break free”.

According to David Pérez, we live in an era where pornography is “more accessible than ever” and that makes it difficult for a child under 12 not to have already been exposed to this type of content.

That is why the approach cannot just be to ban, but prevention and education are key.

A change of culture

“I think we have to change the culture from the bottom up, but it is complicated, because if people do not realise that consuming pornography is bad for everyone, it will be difficult for us to extend it to minors”, underlined the OFF! coordinator.

For Pérez, there is “a whole culture that encourages us to explore our own sexuality with our own pleasure at the centre. It is an underlying culture that goes beyond pornography and that is why it is difficult for us to reach a consensus”.

 

 

 

 

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Porn in churches

OFF! has found that in churches, where there are clearer morals regarding sexuality and pornography, there is also a problem with pornography consumption.

According to a survey conducted three years ago among evangelical Christians in Spain, one in three adult men in evangelical churches consumed pornography once a week or more.

The highest consumption was among married men over 35. The survey also found that one third of people in church leadership used pornography.

“What concerned me most was that one in three people had tried to stop using pornography, but were unable to do so”, pointed out Pérez.

Since then, OFF! distributes materials and organises lectures and courses presenting strategies to overcome pornography addiction, which is also approached from a spiritual perspective.

Over the years they have formed an evangelical support community with people who have overcome pornography addiction and now want to help others to experience the same freedom.

"We often meet people who ask for help in their church and they pray for them once, and it seems like they are just trying to get rid of the problem because there are no people ready to deal with it”, explains David Perez.

In response to that need, they created the course on the prevention and pastoral care of pornography addiction.

Tools to “understand, restore and prevent”

The course, in online format and with a duration of four weeks, is offered through the platform of the Institute for Family Training (INFFA) and presented a new edition this week.

“We want more and more pastors and counsellors to have an understanding of how to deal with this kind of problem”, explained Pérez. For this course, they have the collaboration of well-known psychologists and pastors.

“It is important that people know that it is possible to live without porn, to be free from addiction. I was addicted for many years, and Jesus set me free. And that is why I am doing this now, because I have seen that there is something much better prepared for each person in God's plan”, he said.

For Perez, the church can be a reference in the fight against pornography in society.

“Although the enemy has gained ground, the Spirit is doing something unstoppable in the global church, and it is a privilege to see how God is cleansing His church”, he concluded.