Utah- Several cities around the state are declaring February as White Ribbon Against Pornography month.

Cindy Moreno, president of Communities for Decency, said the group is working with government officials in several cities and even the governor’s office to help increase awareness of issues associated with pornography.

“One of the purposes for this is it helps bring awareness … of the devastating effects of pornography,” she said.

Moreno said her group is a statewide, nonprofit advocate against pornography, started in 2001. It works to bring awareness to parents and leaders alike to help them understand methods used by pornographers. This year, the group will have a billboard campaign in which high school students compete to design a billboard and slogan about the dangers of cell phones.

Like any other new technology, Moreno said, pornographers are beginning to use cell phones to spread their messages. The campaign is intended to allow teenagers to teach their peers and their parents about using technology safely.

“When kids are doing something, you find that they’re going to listen and pay attention when their peers are doing it,” she said.

Moreno said children are natives to technology, and Communities for Decency holds assemblies at schools to help parents understand what their children and pornographers alike have access to.

“Younger and younger children are being exposed to this,” she said. “Parents really need to talk to them at a young age because somebody else is going to.”

Travis Ludlow of Nephi said he is concerned about the use of technology by pornographers. Ludlow recently created a “PG YouTube” Web site after his 10-year-old son stumbled on an inappropriate site on the Internet. Ludlow’s Web site, www.itsagoodday.org, is a family-oriented site with PG videos, free games and links to kid-friendly sites like Animal Planet and Disney.

Ludlow said he wanted to create a Web site that people of all ages could visit without accidentally stumbling on something they do not want to see. His Web site includes clean news stories, tips for family cooking and appropriate videos to focus on positive sources of entertainment.

“That’s our aspect,” he said. “We want to highlight good things.”

Ludlow said the site has children’s Web sites linked to it so kids cannot accidently go to an inappropriate site. Clicking on a button for a Web site prevents misspellings by children who do not know better, he said.

Jean Savage, a Provo grandmother, said she was shocked recently by ads in local malls that she felt were too suggestive and could be viewed by children.

Savage said she was walking in the mall early in the morning recently with her 2-year-old grandson and a friend and was offended by a Victoria’s Secret window display she felt was pornographic. The makeup on the Valentine’s Day mannequins was sleazy and the poses were overly suggestive, she said, to the point she felt her grandson should not have seen them.

“When we went by Victoria’s Secret, (my grandson) said ‘They don’t have any clothes on,'” Savage said. “It’s not like they don’t notice. A 2-1/2-year-old notices.”

Upon speaking with store employees, Savage was told the displays were a corporate decision and were within the store’s rights. Other stores in the mall had mannequins in underwear ads, but Savage said those were not as suggestive. She has no problem with lingerie, Savage said, but suggestive displays should be kept inside stores and away from young eyes.

Suggestive material can have the same effects as pornography and communities should stand against it, she said.

“If we don’t talk about it and recognize it, we’re passing it on to the next generation,” she said.

Several cities, including Springville, have signed the White Ribbon Against Pornography proclamation, and Moreno said the governor has approved the measure as well. Springville City Councilman Neil Strong said he feels pornography is a silent evil that has permeated society, and the government should help the public to eliminate it from society.

“This (proclamation) is an alert to the citizens of our city that we as a mayor and City Council will do everything we can to not introduce pornography into the city,” he said.