Kirsteen Sullivan

Kirsteen Sullivan

Labour (Co-op) — Bathgate and Linlithgow

Speaking in the House of Commons on 2 December 2025

Debate

Pornography and Violence against Women

Contribution

I present this petition on behalf of my constituents on day 8 of the United Nations 16 Days of Activism. Dangerous depictions of violence in offline pornography, such as in magazines, are rightly prohibited under UK law, yet no equivalent laws apply to online pornography, despite its scale and accessibility. The Internet Watch Foundation published over 290,000 reports, with 97% depicting violent child sexual abuse against girls. The petition states: “The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to extend safeguards applied to pornography offline to pornography distributed online; and to legally require all pornography websites accessed from the UK to verify the age and permission of every individual featured on their platform—and give performers the right to withdraw their consent at any time to the continued publication of pornography in which they appear. And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the constituency of Bathgate and Linlithgow, Declares that pornography use is fuelling sexual violence; violence against women is prolific in mainstream pornography; and sexual coercion is inherent to the commercial production of pornography. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to extend safeguards applied to pornography offline to pornography distributed online; and to legally require all pornography websites accessed from the UK to verify the age and permission of every individual featured on their platformand give performers the right to withdraw their consent at any time to the continued publication of pornography in which they appear. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003138]

More from Kirsteen Sullivan

Other recent Hansard contributions by the same speaker.

About Hansard

Hansard is the official verbatim record of proceedings in the UK Parliament. Every word spoken in the Commons and Lords is recorded and published — this page is a single contribution from that record.

For Kirsteen Sullivan's full parliamentary record including voting history, expenses and all other contributions, see the Kirsteen Sullivan report card.

Partner sites