Hungry Hippos Research Dossier Form

Contra – ana

Starve the pro – anorexia websites

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Contra-ana-Starve-the-pro-anorexia-websites/184363051606069?sk=wall

The Contra – ana Campaign Group is a group that campaigns against the easy accessibility of anorexia stimulating websites, the so-called pro-anorexia websites. Eating disorders, including anorexia, are responsible for more loss of life than any other type of psychological illness, according to the Disordered Eating Association. Research from the NHS found that the highest rates of anorexia are seen in female teenagers aged between 13 and 19. Furthermore, a study from The Royal College of Psychiatrists pointed out that 30% of anorexia patients are long-term ill, and 60% of the patients never fully recover from it. Thus anorexia imposes a serious threat with severe consequences for the children of the United Kingdom, and they are stimulated through pro – anorexia websites. A survey held in 2006 by the Stanford Medical School proves this. They found that 35.5% of eating disorder patients had visited pro – anorexia websites, and 96.0% of them had learned new weight loss or purging methods from such sites.

With a study from The Royal College of Psychiatrists finding that 1 in 150 fifteen-year-old females are affected by anorexia, the threat of becoming an anorexic is very real for many adolescents. And with pro – anorexia websites ready to consult, many of them are very like to be triggered in being or becoming an anorexic. A survey done in 2009 by the Catholic University of Leuven showed that from the 711 high school students – aged 13 till 17 – 12.6% of the girls, and 5.9% the boys, had visited, at least once, a pro-ana website. The Contra – ana Campaign Group believes that this is wrong and that something should be done to protect these under age individuals.

The Contra –ana Campaign Group declares that, in order to protect the most substantial group of individuals becoming anorexic, the adolescents, an attempt must be made to stop the vast growth of this eating disorder by warning people before entering an anorexia stimulating website, and stating that the webpage should not be accessed by under aged people. A 2006 Maastricht University study proves the effectiveness of such a measure. During the investigation visitors of pro –anorexia blogs were presented with a click–through warning, containing a disparaging message and links to pro-recovery sites. 33.6% then refrained from entering the webpage.

The purpose of our campaign is therefore to propose to the Houses of Parliament of the United Kingdom that they implement a law forcing Great Britain’s webhosts to install a warning, alarming people that are about to enter a pro-anorexia webpage about the dangerous content of the website, advising under aged visitors to refrain from entering the pro-anorexia webpage, and showing a link to an official pro-recovery website.

With all this, we also sincerely hope to stimulate the international discussion about anorexia and the pro-anorexia websites. Since the internet is freely accessible all over the world a webhost can simply move his company to another country if he wants to avoid the regulations of a newly implemented national law. Therefore, we also sincerely hope to stimulate the international discussion about pro-anorexia websites; in order to thoroughly quell the influences of these websites they should be prohibited everywhere. With this campaign we would like to make a start in what we hope will become a prominent point on the agenda of the European Union, and eventually the entire world. But in order for the campaign to be successful we need as much support as possible. Furthermore information, like video’s, facts and statistics can be found on our Facebook page (see link in top right corner of first page). So have a look and tell everyone about us!

Vouge Italia, one of the most famous fashion magazines, is campaigning in the same area. See what they are doing here: http://isyourmamaallama.tumblr.com/post/3942579520/vogue-italia-launches-a-campaign-against-pro-anorexiaItalian.

The most famous English eating disorder website is from the Eating Disorder Association. See what they are doing here: http://disordered-eating.co.uk/.

If you want to have a look at what we are exactly campaigning about then you can have a look at these website, but be warned the information can be very shocking:

http://community.livejournal.com/proanorexia/25912376.html.

http://www.anorexia10.com/anorexia/tips-for-anorexics-2/

Help us prohibit the free publication of these damaging materials!

Thank you,

The Contra-ana Campaign Group

AnoukBeijleveldMDX 11:23, April 24, 2011 (UTC) (NatashaArtwellMDX 10:27, April 26, 2011 (UTC))