Mr. Speaker, stats show that a very large number of 9-, 10-, 11- and 12-year-old boys are accessing violent, sexually explicit material on the Internet. Exposing children to sexually explicit images is a form of child abuse. The proportions of this abuse make early exposure to pornography the most underdiscussed crisis in our nation. It is at the root of so much sexual violence, family breakdown and personal crisis.
There is an urgent need to protect young children from the abuse they so regularly experience through being shown violent sexual images online. Bill S-209 proposes a simple solution: Pornography websites should be required to verify or credibly estimate the age of those who access them. This bill has passed the Senate unanimously three times. This bill is now one of the most repeatedly and thoroughly studied bills ever, but we have still not acted.
We are past due for action, and I hope this Parliament is the one that finally acts to protect kids from abuse, women from violence and families from crisis by completing the work on Bill S-209.