Response to Age Verification Inquiry report overdue in face of sex abuse crisis in schools

In March 2020, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs’ Inquiry released its report on age verification for online wagering and pornography. Now over a year old, the report - Protecting the Age of Innocence- recommended a roadmap for an age verification system to help protect children from exposure to online porn.

So-called ‘Male Champions of Change’ shopping centre CEOs facilitating objectification of women in sport while claiming to ‘stamp out sexism’

We've had another major #WakeUpInstagram win, with Instagram's rollout of new tools to help protect underage users from predators on the platform including:

Published March 10 on ABC Religion and Ethics 

Warning: this article contains accounts of sexual assault that many will find disturbing.

“Most of my friends had either been raped, sexually assaulted or received unwanted sexual attention by the time we were in year 11.”

Once again "The advertiser has not provided a response to the Panel's determination"

By Daniel Principe, originally published at Eternity News

On a whiteboard, I am writing a question to ask the Year 9 girls at Kambala School, in Rose Bay, Sydney – the same school making headlines because of a viral petition on sexual assault that was initiated by a former student. A petition that has dragged the ongoing issues of consent and problematic masculinity into the spotlight again in Australia, in the same week as Brittany Higgins’ revelations are challenging Federal Parliament’s culture.

Despite broadcasting objectifying and pornified representations of women, reinforcing sexist and harmful stereotypes about women and sexuality, and accusations of bullying and harassing young female staff, sex store Honey Birdette’s go-to refrain is that they are “empowering women”.

This claim is at odds with reality. Read on as we unpack the various ways that Honey Birdette disempowers women and girls. 

Honey Birdette rolls out new porny window displays just in time for XMAS holidays 

The presence of Santa in public places like shopping malls naturally attracts the interest of children. This fact seems to have no bearing at all on sex store Honey Birdette, which has a long history of appropriating the popular figure of Christmas cheer in its full length window displays.

Double standards of Property Male Champs

For years we've pointed out the double standards of Property Male Champions - corporate leaders of the shopping centre companies which lease to sex shop Honey Birdette. Male Champions of Change (MCC) are lauded as "decent, powerful men" who are stamping out everyday sexism in the workplace and community.

But how can that be said about men whose companies host Honey Birdette's floor-to-ceiling pornified window displays in their malls? These malls are workplaces, and display of Honey Birdette's porn-style ads is - as defined by the Australian Human Rights Commission - sexual harassment.

L-R (Top): Property Male Champions Peter Allen (CEO Scentre Group - Westfield AU), Steve McCann (CEO Lendlease Group), Grant Kelley (CEO Vicinity Centres), Bob Johnston (CEO The GPT Group), Darren Steinberg (CEO Dexus); (Bottom) Steve Conry (CEO JLL Australia), Michael O'Brien (Managing Director Global Real Estate, QIC), John Mulcahy (Chair Mirvac), Daryl Browning (CEO ISPT), Mark Steinert (Managing Director Stockland)

Ad Standards' bizarre ruling on sexual harassment ad