Following calls for BP service stations to stop profiting from sexist magazines, sexualising teen girls and encouraging sexual harassment, the service station chain has announced these magazines will no longer be sold in 350 of its company owned stores.

Following a campaign calling on 7-Eleven to withdraw unrestricted pornographic magazines that sexualise teen girls and encourage harassment, Collective Shout can announce a victory.

Following a decade campaigning against Wicked Camper vans for their sexist, degrading and abusive slogans - some even making jokes of rape, torture and murder - Collective Shout can announce victory. 

After the long campaign against the vans for slogans such as “The difference between marmalade and jam is you can’t marmalade your cock down your girlfriend’s throat”, our perseverance has paid off, with state transport ministers signing an agreement to de-register vans carrying slogans like this.

A history of our activism against Wicked Campers, included petitions, persuading Lonely Planet to dump endorsement of the company, a successful collaboration with Wollombi Music Festival to ban entry of all Wicked vans and ongoing lobbying of MPs. (A more detailed history can be found here).

Queensland, Tasmania and the ACT enacted legislation to de-register Wicked Camper vans where Ad Standards had upheld complaints against them. NT went even further, with a decision to de-register vans unconditional on any Ad Standards determination. While these moves were welcome, Collective Shout pointed out that given the vans routinely crossed borders, uniform legislation was needed across the country. 

Now, under the new plan agreed on at a national meeting of transport ministers, Wicked Campers with offensive slogans will be banned from registration in all states and territories. Each state has agreed to deregister vans that do not remove offensive slogans following a complaint, and to ensure that the van cannot be re-registered in another jurisdiction. 

Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist said the decade-long campaign was necessary due to a failed system of advertising self-regulation. “Ad Standards has no authority to enforce its rulings, and there are no penalties for non-compliance. Wicked Campers repeatedly and defiantly breached the advertising code of ethics with no consequences – more than 80 times since 2010” Ms Tankard Reist said. 

The company was fuelling a culture in which violence against women thrived. Unaddressed, Wicked Campers’ messages served to undermine efforts to eradicating violence against women.

“At a time when governments are finally acknowledging the links between sexist attitudes and harmful behaviours, (see Women’s Health Victoria ‘Advertising (in)equality, 2018), funding anti-violence, respectful relationships and consent programs, it seemed remarkable that they could allow Wicked’s mobile misogyny to go unrestrained for so long,” Ms Tankard Reist said.

“We welcome this move. But it’s not the end. We need to see stronger regulation applied to other recalcitrant companies which refuse to abide by the Australian Association of National Advertisers Code of Ethics and which continue to put their vested interests above the wellbeing of the community.”

Collective Shout calls on the Morrison Government to take urgent action to fix the broken advertising self-regulatory system following yet another example of its failure.

Collective Shout has documented the fundamental weaknesses and systemic flaws of the current system, including no power to enforce rulings when breaches are found and the absence of any fines or other penalties even for repeated non-compliance. For example, sex store Honey Birdette – known for its porn-themed portrayals of women - has been found in breach of the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) Code of Ethics 38 times.

Wicked Campers has also ignored findings of breaches of the Code in 80 cases for their slogans, many advocating sexual violence.

Now the Ad Standards Community Panel Chair has refused to even send a complaint for review by the Community Panel.

Collective Shout campaigner and Corporate Social Responsibility advisor, Lyn Swanson Kennedy, was advised that her complaint would not be referred to the Community Panel even though an earlier complaint about an almost identical portrayal of a woman was upheld by the Panel. “The Panel Chair said my complaint was of the type that had been ‘consistently dismissed’ by the Community Panel," Swanson Kennedy said. “But late last year, the same Panel upheld complaints against an almost identical ad noting: “the sheer material of the bottom half of the bodysuit is transparent and the woman’s pubic mound is clearly visible”.

Image: (Left) 'Luna', Upheld by Ad Standards Community Panel, November 2018; (Right) ‘Janet’, Dismissed without Panel Review, July 2019

This is arbitrary and inconsistent. “How can one person be allowed to make this decision? What is the point of the Community Panel if they don’t get to see the complaint and make a determination as a whole?” Swanson Kennedy said. “And what is the point of a ‘community standard’ when it can’t be upheld?”

This example further highlights the need for a new advertising co-regulatory system that has real penalties to stop the harmful objectification of women, instead of the current dead-end complaints process. We need a genuinely independent review system separate from the vested commercial interests of the advertising industry, with enforcement powers to deal with repeat offenders.                           

Collective Shout challenges false claims by Honey Birdette CEO re porn-themed ads

Grassroots campaigning movement Collective Shout has captured images of children participating in Easter activities being exposed to porn-themed shop front displays in WA shopping centres.

Vicinity Centres-owned Galleria Morley and AMP Capital-managed Karrinyup Centre invited children to 'Meet the Easter Bunny' have their faces painted and hunt for Easter eggs within metres of Honey Birdette sex shop. Similar activities were held in other shopping centres around the country, also tenanted by Honey Birdette. The CEOs of many of these centres identify as ‘Male Champions of Change’ who pledge to stamp out sexism.

Collective Shout campaigner and parent Lyn Kennedy said children participating in the activities “stopped in their tracks” to look at full-size images of semi-naked women across the shop front.

One of the images has previously had a ruling against it by Ad Standards, however continues to be displayed.

“This is another reminder of the ineffectiveness of our regulatory system,” Ms Kennedy said. “Australia’s advertising industry self-regulation fails to protect children from sexualised and porn-inspired images”.

In the last few years Ad Standards has investigated complaints against 54 Honey Birdette ads, upholding complaints against 30. However, the company refuses to comply with rulings, stating “Nobody tells Honey B when to take down her signage”.

Collective Shout is calling for a reform of Ad Standards in the lead up to the election.

Grassroots campaigning movement Collective Shout has exposed online marketplace Amazon selling multiple books promoting rape and sexual torture of women and children.

This comes days after the company was forced to remove pedophile-themed baby onesies with the slogans “Daddy’s little f**k toy” and “I just look illegal”.

Campaigns manager Caitlin Roper said that the titles available for purchase promoted rape, gang rape and rape of girls by their fathers.

“These books depict victims, including children, as sexually enticing and therefore deserving of rape,” she said.

“They emphasise the victims’ vulnerability, their unwillingness and their pleas, treating their resistance as something erotic and sexy.

“Amazon’s despicable promotion of rape and child sexual abuse as sexy or somehow warranted undermines global efforts to address an epidemic of men’s sexual violence against women and children.

“It’s time for Amazon to start exercising basic corporate social responsibility and to wake up to the real-world impacts of the rape books they are profiting from.”

Collective Shout has been campaigning against Amazon since 2010, when the company sold ‘The Pedophile’s Guide to Love & Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct’, an instruction manual advising pedophiles on committing sexual offences against children without being caught. Amazon initially refused to remove the book, but after a global protest and threats of boycott the book was removed from sale.

Since then, Collective Shout has documented Amazon’s ongoing sale of sexually exploitative products, including sexy nurse costumes for female toddlers and child sex dolls.

Members of Collective Shout reached out to Amazon executives on Twitter, including founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, but have not received a response.

Media contact
Caitlin Roper 
Caitlin@collectiveshout.org

4 April 2019

Collective Shout releases annual blacklist of repeat corporate offenders

Collective Shout today announces the release of its annual ‘Cross em off your Christmas list’ – a selection of companies to boycott this Christmas for objectifying women and sexualising girls for profit.

The grassroots campaigning movement first launched the list in 2010.

The 2018 line-up includes:

Westfield for failing to take action on resident sex shop Honey Birdette, which openly defies Ad Standards rulings against porn-themed window displays. Westfield (owned by Scentre Group) has ignored a 65,000 strong petition.

Cosmetic company Frank Body for targeting teen girls through its ‘Send Nudes’lip tint . The company has ignored the protests of Melbourne schoolgirls who spoke out about normalising the harassing refrain girls endure from boys, often daily.

Wicked Campers for its long history of degrading and sexist slogans – some even advocating murdering women - on hire vans, also in breach of Ad Standards.

Ultra Tune for its sexist advertising and hiring high profile men with histories of rape, physical violence and domestic abuse to star in their ads.

Campaigns manager Melinda Liszewski said research demonstrated a connection between the way women and girls are portrayed in advertising and the impact on attitudes towards women and their treatment. A 2015 meta-analysis showed objectified portrayals of women led to a ‘diminished view of women’s competence, morality and humanity.’ [Media and Sexualization: State of Empirical Research, 1995-2015, Ward LM, The Journal of Sex Research (2016)]

"These companies are harming women and girls, demonstrating a lack of corporate social responsibility. We can't let them get away with it."

Find the complete list here. 

Contact:

Campaigns Manager Melinda Liszewski, ph: 0433 037 696

Director Coralie Alison, 0401 691 463

team@collectiveshout.org

November 18, 2018

Collective Shout calls on Immigration Minister to revoke serial abuser Sheen's visa

Grassroots campaigning movement Collective Shout has called for Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs, David Coleman, to revoke actor Charlie Sheen's visa.

Sheen is set to kick off a speaking tour in Australia next month. Sheen's sickening history of sexual assault, battery and threats against women spans over two decades.

Campaigns Manager Caitlin Roper said Charlie Sheen is a serial abuser of women.

"Given his long history of sexual assault, battery and threatening to kill women, how was he granted a visa?"

"We've got enough problems with violence against women in Australia, so why are we rolling out the red carpet for serial abusers of women?" Ms Roper said.  

Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 78 on Controversial Visa Applicants refers to “people whose presence in Australia may, because of their activities, reputation, known record or the cause they represent and propagate, vilify or incite discord in the Australian community or a segment of that community, or represent a danger to the Australian community or a segment of that community.”

Collective Shout Director Coralie Alison said "We believe the application by Charlie Sheen meets the Department’s definition of ‘Controversial Visa Applicant’. Our views are based on his long and documented criminal history of violence against women. Allowing Mr Sheen into the country sends the message that domestic violence is not taken seriously."

Collective Shout have posted an open letter on their website and are encouraging their supporters to add their name.