UPDATE: The mural has been tagged over, and following over 1500 emails to the council, the business responsible has been issued a fine for displaying it without a permit. 

A new public mural in Fitzroy, Melbourne depicts a woman in BDSM fetish gear gagged and bound with ropes.

During our campaign to get 3D pornographic rape and incest simulation game No Mercy off the Steam gaming platform, we heard from many female gamers distressed about the game. We have shared some of their stories already - gamers who were also survivors of sexual assault including incest. We have since discovered hundreds of other rape and incest-themed games on Steam, as well as a large number of child sexual abuse simulation games on Itch-io and other platforms. We’ve also learned that PayPal even facilitates and profits from their sale. As a result, our campaign against games which treat sexual violence as entertainment is ongoing.

Here’s Ashlea’s thoughts and experience as a female gamer.

Global online marketplace Etsy has announced a new policy banning pornography, sex dolls and incest-themed content.

While the new Prohibited Items Policy comes into effect from 29 July, Etsy has already blocked search terms relating to porn, sex dolls and other fetish items.

Identifying perpetrators and victims of AI abuse

From the increasing popularity of ‘deepnude’ apps that virtually undress women, to the creation of degrading and pornographic content of women (including Taylor Swift), we’re starting to get a glimpse of how AI can be used to sexually exploit and abuse women and children online.

We’ve previously spoken out about the risks of AI to women and girls, including ‘deepfake’ and ‘deepnude’ apps that allow users to digitally manipulate images and videos and create pornographic and degrading images of them. 

As these technologies are exploding in popularity, and users can create highly realistic content, women and girls are overwhelmingly at risk of being victimised – as we’ve seen with the creation of pornographic images of Taylor Swift circulated last week. 

"Increasing prominence and accessibility of these services will very likely lead to further instances of online harm, such as the creation and dissemination of non-consensual nude images, targeted harassment campaigns, sextortion, and the generation of child sexual abuse material."

New research has found Deepnude apps are exploding in popularity, with undressing websites attracting 24 million unique visitors in September 2023.   

Deepnude apps allow users to virtually undress a woman, using AI to manipulate an image or video of a woman to remove her clothing. Many apps only work on women.

Ad Standards continues to transmits abusive advertiser responses to complainants via case reports