Illegal porn widely available in Higgins

Greens/Kids Free 2 B Kids Joint Media Release

Illegal Porn Widely Available in Higgins

Child advocacy group Kids Free 2 B Kids has called for stricter enforcement of pornography laws after discovering that magazines inciting sex with minors can be purchased in many petrol stations, milk bars and convenience stores in Higgins.

The group’s founder, Julie Gale, recently acquired magazines in Malvern, Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor with titles such as Barely Legal, Live Young Girls and Just 18 featuring models who are or appear to be under 18.

They are often presented with pig-tails, pink hairclips, toys, braces on their teeth, and in school uniforms, contrary to Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) guidelines specifying that models must not appear to be under 18.

The text accompanying several of the pictures often encourages readers to view the models as children and visible magazine mastheads promote sex with minors.

“This material is frequently displayed at child-accessible heights and next to magazines like Dolly and Women’s Weekly”, said Ms Gale.

Greens candidate for Higgins Professor Clive Hamilton, who as head of the Australia Institute published a 2006 report on the sexualisation of children, said: “This material is child porn masquerading as adult porn and is illegal. We urgently need much stronger enforcement by the classification board and the police.”

“The easy availability of this material is disturbing, promotes the sexualisation of children and is a blot on the Higgins electorate”, he said.

Ms Gale said: “Recent auditing by the Classification Board found that most magazines sold in the public arena with a category 1* rating do not comply with the guidelines and are therefore illegal. Many are unclassified or warrant a refused classification.”

Ms Gale said: “The classification board and the police are aware that this material is freely available everywhere yet the distributors continue to flout the law with impunity.”

For additional information or interviews with Julie Gale please call 0412-922253. For interviews with Clive Hamilton please call 0413-993223.

*Category 1 – According to Australian censorship laws Category-1 publications cannot depict graphic sexual acts and the titles should not be "offensive to any reasonable adult". The guidelines state that models should not be under 18 or "appear" to be under 18.

Monday November 30, 2009