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SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake County councilwoman is making it her goal to get pornography education in schools.
Aimee Winder Newton has a personal reason for supporting the program from the nonprofit agency, Fight the New Drug. As a member of the county council, she cares about her constituents, especially those young constituents in her own home.
“I have four children who are in schools and this is something the community is concerned about,” she said.
Newton said schools need to address the subject of pornography.
“I think as we have these Fight the New Drug assemblies, that our kids’ eyes will be opened and they’ll be able to have these conversations with their parents,” she said.
Clay Olsen, executive director and co-founder of Fight the New Drug, agrees.
“We’ve got to come at this and educate them," he said. "If we don’t educate them, the industry will, and we’re not going to like what they teach them."
Fight the New Drug teaches teens and pre-teens about the harmful effects of pornography. Many neuroscientists say pornography has the same effect on the brain as narcotics. Olsen said he's received thousands of emails from kids, some as young as 7 years old, talking about how pornography addiction has impacted them.
If we don't educate them, the industry will, and we're not going to like what (it) teaches them.
–Clay Olsen
“This is an enormous problem among youth, the most popular among youth by far, and we don’t have the luxury of closing our eyes to it any longer,” he said.
Starting in October, three schools in Taylorsville will pilot the pornography addiction program that provides educational assemblies for students. Currently those assemblies are being funded by a private donor, but Newton hopes more donations will make this program available for more schools.
“My goal is to have this program in every middle school, junior high and high school in Salt Lake County,” Newton said.
