Monday Keynote, 8:30AM
Growing up in a Porn Culture: The Social, Emotional, & Cognitive Effects & A Public Health Solution
Presenter: Dr. Gail Dines
Summary: Prior to 2000, most young people, especially boys, would first encounter pornographic images in magazines such as Playboy and Penthouse. Their access to these (mainly) soft-core images was limited, so it was not a pivotal issue in terms of the sexual health and development of young people, and pornography did not serve as the primary source of sex education. Since 2000, the internet has become the main vehicle for porn, and hardcore porn is just a click away—it is free, violent, and based on the degradation and abuse of women and children. The proliferation of the smartphone, together with the growth of teen-targeted social media sites, has opened up yet more avenues for teens to access hardcore porn. Today, online porn has become a primary source of sex education for young people around the world.
Researchers from across disciplines, using a wide range of methodologies, have shown that viewing pornography is associated with:
- increased anxiety and depression
- poor academic performance
- risky and problematic sexual behaviors
- decreased capacity for empathy, connection, & healthy relationships
- lowered empathy for rape victims
- lowered likelihood of intervening in a sexual assault
- increased likelihood of engaging in sex at a younger age
- increased likelihood of contracting STIs
Focusing on the public health approach, this presentation will highlight how Culture Reframed helps parents and professionals who work with young people to navigate this precarious terrain of hypersexualized social media and pornography. We will discuss our research-driven online courses and resources for parents and professionals, including our new Sex Education with a Porn-Critical Lens Curriculum.
Objectives: Participants will be able to gain a nuanced and research-based understanding of the social, emotional, and cognitive impacts of hypersexualized pop culture and pornography on young people; develop an awareness of the cultural impact of pornography, and how it impacts family and peer relationships; debunk the most prevalent myths about kids and pornography; understand the public health approach to the porn crisis as the basis for the development of CR’s courses and resources; gain practical skills, tips, and strategies to address the harms of pornography.
Monday, 10:15AM
The Intimate Connection Between Social Media, Gaming, & Pornography and the Harms to Youth
Presenter: Mandy Sanchez, PhD
Summary: In the last two decades, screen time has doubled for young people, with 10–14-year-olds spending eight hours per day and older teens even more on screens. The question is not if they are using social media and gaming platforms, but when, and what are they seeing? This presentation will explore the most popular social media and gaming platforms accessed by young people today, with discussion of the hypersexualized images and pornography they are exposed to. This presentation will link the massive social media, gaming, and porn industries through their explicit content, shared platforms, and common marketing tactics that serve as a fertile hunting ground for predators, exposing the harmful effects of their exposure to young people. Also highlighted is how Culture Reframed actively works with Child Advocacy Centers and a multidisciplinary set of professionals and systems across the country, most directly involved in responding to child sexual abuse, to build partnerships for education, training, and materials for best practices.
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify the ways the social media, gaming, and pornography industries target youth and serve as a hunting ground for predators; gain a research-based understanding of the social, emotional, and cognitive harms of hypersexualized images and pornography on young people; develop an awareness of the collaboration-building efforts that address the harms of pornography and the abuse of children in the U.S.
Monday, 11:45AM
“I Didn’t Know it Counted”: Design-Thinking and Narrative Theory Approaches to Munchausen-by- Proxy Intervention Barriers (A Survivor-Scholar’s Perspective)
Presenter: Kari Nixon, PhD
Summary: Grounded in Kari Nixon’s own experiences as a victim of Munchausen-by-Proxy, which have guided her scholarly research over the last 14 years, this presentation will discuss barriers to better Munchausen-by-Proxy research and intervention. Dr. Nixon draws from her various studies to address some core factors that limit not simply the intervention in current cases of Munchausen-by-Proxy, but even the development of peer-reviewed research on the topic beyond simple case studies. Weaving in her personal story of discovering, at age 25, she had been a victim of Munchausen-by-Proxy, Dr. Nixon reveals the way her journey, combined with her educational trajectory, has shaped her perspective on why Munchausen-by-Proxy research, media representation, and understanding seems to be lagging behind. Dr. Nixon ends with giving some concrete, actionable strategies for mitigating this stasis.
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify the factors limiting better research and intervention on Munchausen-by-Proxy; discuss strategies for overcoming these barriers.
Tuesday Keynote, 8:30AM
Community and Healthcare Responses to Trafficking of Minors and Young Adults
Presenter: Angela Rabbitt, DO
Summary: Responding to human trafficking is complex and challenging to professionals of all disciplines. Multidisciplinary collaboration and a shared understanding of roles and recommended responses may improve outcomes for clients and professional well-being. In this presentation we will discuss the nature of trafficking and barriers to accessing community services and health care expressed by focus groups of youth and adult survivors of sex trafficking in Milwaukee and professionals who care for them. We will review national, literature-based, and community-based recommendations to address these barriers. We will review multidisciplinary efforts to improve health care and community responses to victims and survivors of trafficking informed by these recommendations.
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify the barriers to exiting the life of trafficking through helpful responses from the perspective of survivors; describe recommendations for the multidisciplinary response to youth and young adults who have experienced trafficking; discuss examples and outcomes of multidisciplinary collaborative efforts to address trafficking.
Tuesday, 10:15AM
Investigating the Accident
Presenter: Detective Corporal Jim Twardesky, MPA
Summary: Child abuse investigations can be challenging as offenders often attempt to hide their abuse by staging the incident as an accident. On the other hand, it is not uncommon for children to be injured accidentally. This presentation uses real case studies to illustrate what steps an investigator can take to help distinguish between accidental and intentionally caused injuries in children with a focus on analyzing the crime scene in comparison with the injuries and caregiver statements.
Objectives: Participants will be able to identify the three key elements to a successful child abuse investigation; learn to use good crime scene analysis and the caregiver’s statement to distinguish between accidental and intentionally caused injuries.
Tuesday, 11:45AM
Child Burn Injuries for Investigators
Presenter: Detective Corporal Jim Twardesky, MPA
Summary: Inflicted burn injuries create a unique challenge for investigators because offenders don’t often provide a truthful history. To add to the challenge, it can sometimes be difficult for hospital staff to make a firm conclusion based solely on the caregiver’s statements. This presentation will examine the importance of a thorough investigation into all significant burn injuries and how attention to detail makes the difference in determining if the injuries are the result of abuse or not. Actual cases will be used to demonstrate the teaching points.
Objectives: Participants will be able to recognize what evidence to look for an evaluate at the scene; discern the difference between inflicted burns and the investigative considerations.