A total of 24,473 attempts to view pornographic content through various devices connected to parliament’s network were made between June and October of last year. That figure suggests that the network users, — including lawmakers, peers and staff, — tried to watch adult content online 160 times a day, on average.
The data, which the Press Association has obtained through the freedom of information (FoI) act, also indicates a sharp increase in attempts to watch porn in September 2017, the month when the parliament’s filtering system blocked some 9,467 attempted entries to the porn websites.
However, a parliamentary spokesperson said that the staff hadn't tried to reach out to the adult sites deliberately. He also pointed out that the figures represent only requests, not visits to the sites.
Still, the figures reveal a rapid decline in the number of attempts to access porn in parliament in 2017 in comparison with previous years. In 2016, a total of 113,208 attempts were suppressed.
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The revelation comes in the wake of a string of scandals related to sexual abuse in the UK establishment.
Damian Green, one of Prime Minister Theresa May’s closest allies, was sacked after an internal probe found he stored "extreme pornography" on his office computer. He is also being probed for his alleged sexual advances toward journalist Kate Maltby. Another politician, Labour MP Ivan Lewis, was suspended over sexual assault allegations.
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The global anti-abuse campaign started in Hollywood after a number of high-profile women accused movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse. The news was followed by Weinstein’s resignation from his post in his movie company; the scandal eventually landed him in court.
The case triggered a global trend, with many public figures in countries around the world opening up about their experiences related to sexual abuse.
