A leading Conservative peer has called on the Labour Party to create a dedicated ‘minister for porn’ to confront the growing prevalence of violent and misogynistic content circulating online.
Baroness Gabby Bertin, who chairs the Independent Pornography Review Taskforce, stressed that politicians must overcome their discomfort around the topic to properly address the scale of abuse in the porn industry.
“We’re really British about it so we don’t want to have a graphic conversation about sex and porn. But you’ve got to shout about it as loudly as possible. The reason why we’ve got into this mess is because nobody has really wanted to talk about it,” she told The Guardian.
Baroness Bertin is lobbying for a formal ministerial role focused solely on porn regulation, arguing that leadership is essential. “You can’t leave the pitch on this stuff just because you’re worried about being accused of being too strait-laced,” she added.
Her recent review, initiated by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, recommended a sweeping crackdown on harmful pornography. The report, released in February, called for degrading, violent and misogynistic pornographic content to be banned.
It also proposed that Ofcom be granted stronger enforcement powers to monitor and penalise non-compliant websites, and suggested that online porn videos featuring extreme material should not receive any form of certification, effectively outlawing them.
One of the key proposals from the review – outlawing depictions of strangulation in pornography – has already been adopted. Alex Davies-Jones, the Minister for Victims and Tackling Violence Against Women, confirmed the change.
“Cracking down on the appalling rise of strangulation pornography will protect women and send a clear signal to men and boys that misogyny will not be tolerated,” she said.
Recent findings by Ofcom highlight the urgency of the issue. Research shows that 8% of children aged between 8 and 14 have viewed pornography online. Among them, boys aged 13 to 14 are the most likely to access adult content, with two in ten reportedly visiting explicit sites.
In response, leading pornographic websites such as Pornhub, Stripchat, and YouPorn have agreed to enhance their age verification processes. These platforms now face significant penalties – up to 10% of their global turnover – if they fail to comply with the new standards.
With mounting pressure and public concern, the call for a dedicated ministerial post may gain traction as the government continues its efforts to regulate the online adult industry and protect vulnerable users.
