Youth and Porn Resource KitPrinciple 2: Reflective Care
Health professionals are increasingly undertaking ‘reflective care’ as part of workplace best-practice. This involves critical reflection on how our backgrounds, culture, views, assumptions, and experiences may inform our professional practice, and consideration of ways we can improve this.
Critical reflection is especially important when it comes to porn-related conversations and care as our personal, cultural, or faith-based views, along with our personal experiences of porn, can inform the way we engage with young people.
Below are some questions that can help prompt reflection, which can be undertaken personally or with a supportive colleague.
What views do I hold around porn?
Reflect on your own knowledge, views, and beliefs around porn.
- Is my own understanding and knowledge of porn relevant to what young people are engaging with online?
- How do my experiences relating to porn (or other sexual experiences) shape my views on porn?
- What are my personal, cultural, or faith-based views on porn?
- What assumptions, stereotypes, or biases do I hold about porn and different cultures, sexualities, and genders?
- What power and privilege shape my views and experiences around porn?
- What historical and social legacies affect and inform the care I provide?
How can I improve?
Reflect on how to improve your porn-related conversations and care
- If I am uncomfortable talking about porn, how can I address and improve this?
- How can I introduce a curious, open, and shame-free approach to porn in my practice?
- How can I address any assumptions, stereotypes, or biases that I hold about different cultures, sexualities, and genders?
- How can I improve my understanding and knowledge of the current porn landscape and related issues for young people?
- What resources can I engage with to improve my conversations and care?
How could my views impact my care?
Reflect on how your views can impact your porn-related conversations and care.
- How might my personal views about sex, gender, and porn impact how I engage with young people?
- How might any assumptions, stereotypes, or biases relating to different cultures, sexualities, and genders impact how I engage with young people?
- What views or experiences would be helpful to process or discuss with a colleague or supervisor before having any porn-related conversations with young people?
Tools to help: Resource 2.3: Cultural Safety
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“All the concerns are valid – I just think that they’re presented in an incorrect way.”
Male, 17 years