Sample Letter to School Principals – Fight the New Drug School Assembly Presentations

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Pornified

South Africa has become more ‘pornified’ than anyone could ever have imagined. Children are not only viewing porn, now they are brazenly imitating its brutality; and making their own. Over the last four years (2010 to 2013), there have been five gang rapes of girls by teen boys (that we know of from news reports); and in four of the cases, the boys filmed the abuse, later spreading the video via social media.Pornography is propaganda for a rape culture.

Largest Group of Porn Viewers Are Teens

According to financial statistics, pornography revenue in 2006 was $97.06 billion. That is more money than Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo, Apple and Netflix combined. The largest group of viewers of Internet porn is children between ages 12 and 17 (Family Safe Media Statistics, 2009).

Onslaught

When it comes to laws covering porn, South Africa is now one of the most liberal countries in the world. In few other countries are children so unprotected against the onslaught of filth and smut currently being published, or broadcasted, in our country.

Enough is Enough

In the UK, where a shocking survey found that nine percent of boys as young as 13watch porn online daily, and other research found that 562 children (98 percent of them boys) have sexually abused other children (2009-2012), Prime Minister David Cameron, concerned citizens, and Internet Service Providers have said ‘enough is enough’ and have agreed to block porn on all their users’ Internet services by the end of 2014. Adults who want to view porn, have to ‘opt in’. Other countries, such as Iceland, are also considering installing blocks on Internet porn.

This could happen in South Africa too, but not without you getting involved and putting up a fight.

Taking Truth Seriously

In 1997 a small office in Florida launched the "Tobacco Pilot Programme." Rather than challenging the industry directly, the initiative set out with a unique goal —"to drive a wedge between the tobacco industry's advertising and a youth audience." After a careful survey of the attitudes of local youth, the program set out to educate youth in creative and edgy ways about the "truth" about smoking. Thirteen years later, after the programme spread across the USA, its wide ranging impact on smoking rates is well-known. According to research, the decline in youth smoking attributable to this campaign equates to some 300,000 fewer youth smokers and thus millions of added life years as well as tremendous reductions in health care and social costs.

More broadly, this effort illustrated the potential of a youth movement - mobilizing youth through grassroots advocacy and a youth-centred education aimed to incite their impulse to "rebel"— this time, in a good direction. What this campaign had discovered, of course, was not new or radical. Public health had been learning the same thing in its wildly successful campaigns against small-pox, diphtheria, measles and polio. Education works!

Contact us to Arrange a Presentation at Your School’s Assembly

Fight the New Drug USA has put together a fast-paced, engaging, multi-media youth-orientated presentation designed to educate teens on the harmful effects of pornography using science, facts and personal testimonies. I have been approved by Fight the New Drug USA to give these presentations here in South Africa. I have over 12 years of experience in community youth work and have recently published a book on the harmful effects of pornography, particularly in South African context, called Porndemic – How the Pornography Plague Affects You and What You Can Do About It.

To see an example of a schools assembly presentation in the USA visit www.fightthenewdrug.org .

Contact me on: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. '; document.write(''); document.write(addy_text65378); document.write('<\/a>'); //-->\n This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or 021 – 6894480 to arrange a presentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Fight the New Drug SA take a religious or political stance?

A: Our goal is to raise awareness on the facts and let teens choose for themselves.

Should you be interested, Christian principles on living a pure lifestyle can be included.

Q: Is pornography really an issue among teens?

A: The average age of first exposure to pornography is 9 years old. The largest group of online pornography users is youth ages 12-17. This is something that teens are dealing with on a daily basis and most of them have no idea of the potential harm that is caused by pornography.

Q: How is this issue worse than when I was a teenager?

A: The year 1993 changed the game. With the launch of the internet the pornography industry went from being a 4 billion dollar industry to an astounding $97 billion in 2006. In the late 1970's, people had to aggressively pursue pornography to find it. There was still the perception of men in trench coats going to the seedier parts of town to find xxx movies. Now, it's a very different story for teens. Not only has the media normalized the use of pornography but it has now become easily accessible, affordable (in many cases free), and anonymous. Combine these together and you've got a very different issue from when you were young.

Q: Will talking about this issue cause more curiosity?

A: We have put much time and resources into developing a presentation that does not cause curiosity by not going into graphic detail or giving them any information on how to find it. We focus on the effects of pornography rather than pornography itself. We do this by discussing the brain science of addiction and how there are potential physical, psychological and social effects to pornography. Our presentation is designed to educate them about the dangers of addiction and encourage them to live a happier, healthier, easier life without pornography.

Q: Will my child be exposed to inappropriate material in the assembly?

A: Of course not. We educate on the subject without displaying any sort of questionable imagery. Parents who have seen the presentation agree that the material is appropriate for youth.

Q: Does this presentation replace the conversation in the home?

A: Absolutely not. If anything, our approach will aid and encourage that conversation to happen in the home. We believe that parents are an essential part of the solution. Our efforts are focused around peer-to-peer encouragement to help redefine the social norms and help them understand that pornography is not cool and has harmful effects. This will help teens feel more comfortable openly discussing the issue with their parents.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you need any further information.

Taryn Hodgson
Fight the New Drug SA
PO Box 23632
Claremont 7735
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689 4480 
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Christian Action P.O.Box 23632 Claremont 7735 Cape Town South Africa [email protected] - 021-689-4481 - www.christianaction.org.za
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