We're off to Washington! MTR and Caitlin to address CESE Summit

We are excited to announce that members of the Collective Shout team will heading to Washington, DC next month for the 2024 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Summit, hosted by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE) and Phase Alliance. The theme is “The Great Collision: Emerging Tech, Sexual Exploitation, and the Ongoing Pursuit of Dignity.”

Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist and Campaigns Manager Caitlin Roper will be presenting.

Melinda will be speaking on the topic The Rise of Harmful Sexual Behaviours in Schools and the Role of Pornography:

As a speaker in schools across Australia, I am privy to the accounts of vast numbers of girls who have shared with me their experience of routine sexual harassment by male peers. These everyday sexual affronts – relayed by girls from primary school to end of secondary – have become increasingly more concerning. They include accounts of touching, groping, being sent unsolicited dick pics, rape threats if they don’t share nudes, being subjected to sexist taunts, body judgement and daily experience of sexual moaning, groaning and sexual gestures and other forms of sexual intimidation. Schools have become sites of abuse.
 
Authorities are attributing much of this sexually aggressive behaviour to mass exposure to pornography. Adolescent Australian males now constitute the largest cohort of sex offenders – including against children. This is echoed in the UK.

How can we respond to the rise of harmful sexual behaviours in schools – and more broadly, the malign impact of pornography on a generation of young people?

Caitlin will be presenting on the topic No Child, No Harm? The Myth of ‘Harmless’ Substitutes for Child Sexual Abuse:

This talk debunks the claim that men’s access to child sex abuse dolls and AI-generated CSAM – “fantasy sexual outlets” – can prevent their abuse of children. Evidence shows that these materials not only normalise and legitimise child sexual abuse, but that they serve as practice for predators and facilitate new methods for them to sexually exploit children. We will explore the urgent need to reject the production of replica children for men’s sexual use and focus on true prevention strategies.

Supporters can use the code “ALLIES15” to register for 15% off.

We thank generous sponsors who made this possible.

We hope to see some of our US supporters there!