Our work through Young and Aware supports the prevention of online porn harm through educational books, curricula and workshops. Young and Aware resources equip our young to critically analyse media and culture so that they can make healthy and brave choices for themselves. Notably, Young and Aware educational books include:
Our work through Young and Aware is an initiative under the direction of Liz Walker. Previously known by the names Youth Wellbeing Project and Porn Resilient Kids, the transition to Young and Aware began in June 2022. In her role as an educator and advocate spanning twelve years, Liz responds to online porn harm and is dedicated to culture-shifting initiatives that equip children & young people. You can learn more about Liz’s involvement in other culture-shifting initiatives that respond to online porn harm on her website or read more below.
Young and Aware provides research-based curricula to guide our young to avoid the onset of risky sexual behaviours (online and offline) that may contribute to negative outcomes for their emotional, psychological, social and health wellbeing.
Suitable for homeschooling parents and educational settings, these resources will be available in the coming months. Frameworks that guide our curricula are detailed below.
Porn & Online Safeguarding Education (POSE) supports children and young people to build critical literacy skills to minimise porn and other online or contact harms, equipping them for wellbeing. This education includes age-sensitive information to inform safe, respectful, trusting, consenting, and equal relationships.
POSE situates porn education within a framework of balancing content around other pivotal areas of accepted child development and safeguarding education. Elements include Online Safety, Protective Behaviours, Mental Wellbeing, and Relationships and Sexuality Education. The Porn & Online Safeguarding Education framework guides Young and Aware resources.
The Holistic Model of Sexuality depicts the internal and external forces at work in and around our identity. Human identity is a beautiful and complex phenomenon, partly distinguished through the complex and continuous interactions between these internal and external environments. No two people are the same, and the effects of these interactions will vary from person to person. This individuation is why the fingerprint is a perfect emblem of personal identity. The Holistic Model of Sexuality captures the process in which these environments negotiate–allowing for a critical examination of the factors that influence our identity.
The Holistic Model of Sexuality informs Youth Wellbeing Project presentations and IQ PROGRAMS.
When I was six years old, I was shown a porn magazine with page after page of graphic sexual images. Understandably, the scenes swirled around in my mind and gave me the wrong idea about sexual behaviours, relationships, and even myself. Upon reflection, I often wonder if things would have been different for me if, as a six-year-old, I had talked to a trusted adult and asked for help. However, I thought I would get into trouble if I spoke with someone. As a result, I wasn’t even sure anyone would listen or understand. How very wrong I was. As it turns out, asking for help would have been the best thing I could have done.
Today, troubling content can be found everywhere – far more explicit and harmful than I encountered. Unfortunately, children of all ages are exposed to hardcore, online graphic porn at the click of a button – images that their eyes were never meant to see.
It’s up to mums, dads, teachers, carers, and safe grown-ups to be more aware of online dangers and the impact of unsafe images on our kids’ lives. Most importantly, families need to speak with their kids BEFORE they see online porn. It’s critical that they have the skills to know how to respond.
Our educational books, curricula and workshops inspire and facilitate educated conversations about online pornography harm. It’s up to us to empower kids to take charge of disturbing images. We can give them the confidence to speak with a trusted adult and stand up against porn culture. Above all, we can teach them to listen to their inner voice to help them make safer and more positive choices.
Watch the video below to learn more about my journey.
