Ms Tankard Reist spoke to the Mercury on Friday, in the wake of the scandal after police uncovered a pornographic photo-sharing website targeting young women and girls – including some from the Illawarra.

On the site – which has been partially shut down –  users request, swap and share nude photos of girls from particular high schools, regions and postcodes.

‘’This is another outworking of our porn culture,’’ Ms Tankard Reist said. ‘’It’s because boys are being socialised into an attitude of entitlement to the bodies of women and girls and to their images.

‘’Boys could get a million naked images online but they get their sexual thrills from this website by violating the privacy of these girls, who have not consented to their images being shared in this way.’’

Ms Tankard Reist will focus on the online life of children and the harms of porn at the Too Much Too Young forum, to be held at Cedars Christian College on September 24.

‘’Young people are exposed to porn at an average age of first exposure of 11, and they’re seeing very graphic and violent images,’’ she said. ‘’They’re not getting a healthy idea of what respect-based relationships are about.’’

The media commentator will give parents, teachers and community leaders some tips on how to keep kids safe from the harm posed by porn.

‘’It needs a whole-of-community approach,’’ she said. ‘’We need to act personally, and politically.’’

The forum has been organised by City Women Illawarra, a group of Christian women keen to make a brighter future for girls. The group has been implementing a self-development program called Shine, which they’ve run for more than 100 girls.

Leaders Heloisa Nuske, Lidia Widjaja and Lusanne Jenkins said through the program, the problem of pornography for young people became clear.

‘’It came to our attention how pornography and extreme unhealthy online habits are influencing the minds and behaviours of our girls in our community,’’ Mrs Nuske said.

‘’So we organised this seminar to help raise awareness of the issue and equip and empower us as parents, teachers, students, community leaders and youth pastors, to be part of the solution in the Illawarra.’’

Bookings or details at info@citywomenillawarra.com