Collective Shout is backing a Change.org petition launched today by Melbourne fashion designer, singer-songwriter and mother of five Anna Cordell, calling on the Board of Directors of global marketplace Etsy to block sellers of incest and child abuse-themed merchandise.

The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) this week released its updated Code of Ethics following a review. While we welcome some new elements in the Code, we have reservations about its overall effectiveness.

Media Release

Collective Shout welcomes Alibaba’s removal of child sex abuse doll listings from global platform

Collective Shout welcomes the actions of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group to remove all listings of child sex abuse dolls from its global platform.

Alibaba Group’s actions were in response to our two week investigation which exposed large numbers of replica child dolls modelled on the bodies of pre-pubescent girls, toddlers and babies on its platform.

*Content Warning - image at end of page*

Collective Shout has exposed the mega online shopping corporate Alibaba for profiting from the sale of child sex abuse dolls modelled on the bodies of pre-pubescent girls, toddlers and babies on its platform.

For Immediate Release: Flight Attendant slams Honey Birdette ad campaign sexualising female cabin crew

Collective Shout has called for an overhaul of Australia’s classification system and a review of recent Classification Board determinations following discovery of illegal animated child sexual abuse material depicting child rape, abuse and exploitation which the Board classified as suitable for audiences as young as 15 - in some cases even younger. 

South Australian Centre Alliance Senator Stirling Griff exposed the Board’s deeply disturbing failure to exercise its responsibilities under Australian law in a speech in the Senate Tuesday followed by a Senate motion yesterday.  

Senator Griff described anime movies depicting “wide-eyed children, usually in school uniforms, engaged in explicit sexual activities and poses, and often being sexually abused." He called for an immediate review of all Japanese anime movies accessible in Australia.

The Commonwealth Criminal Code prohibits the sale, production, possession and distribution of offensive and abusive material that depicts a person, or is a representation of a person, who is or appears to be under 18.

Senator Griff cited a number of anime series featuring the sexual abuse of children. One of these, Sword Art Online depicts the rape and sexual assault of children. It was given an unrestricted M rating by the Classifications Board, despite the fact it constitutes illegal child exploitation material. According to Senator Griff, the character Asuna is raped by her captor Sugou, who threatens to also rape her in the real world, where she is lying in a hospital room in a catatonic state. Sugou says he will make a recording of the virtual rape to shame her. 

Senator Griff said that the Classification Board justified the M rating in its report, stating that the nudity through the film is 'moderate in impact' and 'justified by context'.  

We would like to know how Board members could possibly justify the sexual violation of children for entertainment as justifiable in any way. 

Other anime series depicting sexual abuse of children as well as strong incest themes were given an MA 15+ rating by the Board, despite also featuring illegal content. In Goblin Slayer children are portrayed as frightened or resisting - at the same time enjoying the sexual abuse inflicted on them.

“The Board has made child sexual exploitation material available for purchase in Australian retail outlets - including mainstream stores like Sanity”, Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist said. “This has allowed a paedophilic culture to flourish. How can we claim to care about the epidemic of child sexual abuse when child sexual exploitation material is given the tick by our so-called regulatory body?”

Our experience working with child sexual abuse survivors and clinicians supports Senator Griff’s statement that this material is “a gateway to the abuse of actual children” and can be used as a grooming tool to normalise abuse.

 “This matter must be immediately referred to the Australian Federal Police,” Tankard Reist said.  “And Communications Minister Paul Fletcher needs to take charge of this failed government agency and investigate how it could allow this content to be permitted contrary to Australian law”.

In its submission to the current review of Australian Classification Regulation, Collective Shout provided detailed evidence of systemic failures of the Board over a decade and called for its complete overhaul. Its approval of child sexual exploitation material is just the latest example of a broken system.

Media Contacts:

Melinda Tankard Reist

[mtr at collectiveshout.org] 

Caitlin Roper

[caitlin at collectiveshout.org] 

27 February 2020

Lesbians have slammed sex shop Honey Birdette for fetishising and objectifying lesbians in its latest ad campaign. The ‘Fluid’ campaign, set to coincide with the forthcoming Sydney Mardi Gras Festival, depicts an orgy of naked men and women with bodies painted in Pride colours, groping each other.

On Safer Internet Day, Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation, calls on Instagram to take urgent action to stop rampant sex trafficking, child sexual abuse grooming and the fetishisation of underage girls on its social media platform. Safer Internet Day is a worldwide event marked in 150 countries that began in 2004, to raise awareness about online safety and creating a better internet. 

Collective Shout has carried out an investigation into the behaviour of predators on Instagram. We collected hundreds of samples of sexual, predatory comments on the posts of underage girls - some as young as 7. These included comments by adult men about girls bodies, body parts, sex-abuse acts they would like to carry out on the girls and requests for nude images.  We also found that sexualised images of children posted on Instagram, shared under the guise of child modelling, were then shared to paedophile forums where men discuss their sexual fantasies for children.  

Some Instagram accounts featuring sexualised imagery of children offer paid subscriptions to ‘exclusive content’, with one allowing men to purchase bikini shots of a 13- year-old girl washing a dog. 

Instagram claims to be using proactive technology to ensure the platform is safe for children. However Collective Shout campaigner Lyn Swanson Kennedy said when she reported the content she discovered, Instagram countered that ‘no community guidelines’ had been breached. Some predatory comments had been left more than a year with no action from Instagram.  

"What we’ve found shows that sexualisation and harassment of underage girls on Instagram is rampant,” Swanson Kennedy said. By giving adult males unfettered access to children and facilitating the transmission of sexual comments Instagram is complicit in normalising the idea that girls are available for sexual gratification. This puts girls at risk. 

"If these mega social media companies are going to allow minors on their platform, they must provide adequate measures to keep children safe from sexual predators”.

Collective Shout is partnering with the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (USA) and Defend Dignity (Canada) in a campaign calling on Instagram to change its policies. In December Collective Shout wrote to Instagram’s Global Head of Policy Karina Newton with evidence from our investigation.

Collective Shout representatives will take part in a meeting with platform heads this month. 

11 February 2020

Media Contacts:

Lyn Swanson Kennedy [lyn at collectiveshout.org] 

Melinda Liszewski [melinda.l at collectiveshout.org]