THE SEXUAL FREEDOM COALITION

Dear Baroness Lady Miller, Lord Faulkner, Lord Henley, Baroness Howe, Lord Dubs, Lord Puttnam, Lord Soley and Lord Thomas of Greshford,

I write to thank those of you who opposed the clauses on extreme pornography in the House of Lords yesterday, and offer my condolences that Lord Hunt took no notice. It is as if they have already make up their minds!

I write as the founder of Outsiders, a community of over 500 disabled people in the UK, now in its 29th year. One of our patrons, Alison Lapper MBE, is keen to meet with politicians to discuss the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, and I hope she will be given this opportunity.

I write to offer more support and evidence. Many disabled people are shunned because of their disabilities, and fail to find a sexual partner. These people may rely on all kinds of pornography, and even those whose arms are missing or too weak, may still gain erotic comfort from sexual images.

In response to my letter of 19th February 2008 to the Attorney General, a reply came from Stephen Ruddell of the Ministry of Justice, saying "We do not feel the proposals should impact disproportionately on those with disabilities, as there is no reason to believe they are accessing such illegal material more than other groups". I beg to differ. It is not uncommon for disabled people to develop fetish fantasies as a result of being hospitalised at an early age, experiencing pain, needle injections, surgical blades, enemas, isolation from their parents, surrounded by machinery and staff in uniforms. Many others are sexually and otherwise abused within the family or residential home, which can have devastating events on their personal lives. Sometimes their disability brings shame to their families and they develop very low self esteem, feeling unworthy of conventional sexual relationships. From this, it is easy to see why some disabled people may enjoy extreme pornography. In Outsiders, we are aware of some of such people, but increasingly disabled people are afraid to discuss their sexual tastes, for fear of stigmatisation and criminalisation. As you may know, communication is essential for sexual health.

Another thing that worries us is that some images that will be made illegal to possess sit in art galleries, universities and council-run establishments which would cost the tax payer thousands of pounds in fines and legal fees. One such artist isJ.A.M. Montoya, whose beautiful photographs are published in elegantly bound volumes such as Sanctorum, and have been shown in galleries across Spain and a lesser extent the UK. There could be a repeat of what happened with Robert Mapplethorpe's photographs – a man thought by many art historians to be the most important photographer of the second half of the 20th Century. On Monday 9th March 1998 police interviewed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Central England (UCE) under caution because a Robert Mapplethorpe book was in the university library. A chemist had sent photographs (taken by a student doing a project on the book) to the West Midlands porn squad. The V-C was under threat of imprisonment unless portions of the book were destroyed. The university involved Ministers the Rt. Hon David Blunkett and the Rt. Hon Chris Smith. The case got dropped but it shows how porn is impossible to police and makes things more difficult for the police, for us, for academics' freedom, to use, and write about, controversial images.

You are right to say that taste cannot be decided by a jury. I personally lived through the Obscene Publications Act trials of the 70's and 80's when expert witnesses were able to steer the jury into clear thinking so that they could see that the material being considered did not "deprave or corrupt" the viewer, and all prosecutions failed. In desperation, the use of expert witnesses was banned, so that pornographers could be sent to prison. What a waste of time and money all that was!

Disabled members of Outsiders are angry that disabled people have not been considered nor consulted regarding this Bill. They asked that I produce testimonies from people engaged in extreme pornography, for politicians to read. We now offer below three testimonies from young ladies who have been involved in extreme pornography, to show that this niche market does no harm.

You cannot ban something just because it is distasteful to most people. This is Britain after all – land of bad taste and land of the free.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Tuppy Owens, 5th March 2008

Outsiders Trust (registered charity Nos 283350 & SC03801)
4S Leroy House
436 Essex Road
London N1 3QP
www.outsiders.org.uk

For some testimonies that were sent along with this letter, click here.