Our annual ‘Wins and Highlights’ wrap up
Social media age limits, porn age verification trial, sexist ads and products pulled, Child Sexual Abuse Material taken down, child sex abuse doll sellers gone, OnlyFans Schoolies predators cancelled, strip club shares dumped, Sexual Harassment of Teachers [SHoT] Report released, 15,000 students reached and a trip to Washington DC to address a global summit on sexploitation - it’s been a massive year!
For 15 years we’ve fought hard to reach our goal of a world free of sexploitation. This year sees a record number of victories: 34 in total against companies using the bodies of women and girls for profit.
Because you spoke out, these companies were forced to rectify their behaviour!
We hope you are as encouraged as we are by this year’s ‘Wins and Highlights’.
WINS
Sexist and porn-themed ads pulled
Fashion retailer H+M’s Back to School sponsored Facebook ad ‘Turning Heads’ featuring two young girls in school uniform was withdrawn in 24 hours after we exposed the company in a campaign which went viral and attracted international media attention.
Bodeva Mexican Wine Bar in Thirroul, NSW, removed an Instagram promo post depicting women’s bums being groped alongside the caption “Happy Hump Day” within an hour of Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist calling them out on their page, following a tip-off from a NSW supporter.
A Perth gym quietly pulled a Facebook post sexualising a young boy after we called them out. A supporter alerted us to the disturbing post which portrayed the child as having rubbed his face on the sprinkle-covered backside of a woman.
Ad Standards upheld complaints against a number of sexist and objectifying ads – Pickle My Chili, a Wheels & Dollbaby underwear ad referencing ‘private school girl coquettes’ and a number of pornified Honey Birdette ads.
Revolution Beauty porn-themed lip gloss ads were removed from social media after our supporters objected.
Child sex abuse dolls pulled; pedo-themed baby clothes withdrawn
Global e-commerce platform Temu pulled child sex abuse dolls and replica child body parts from sale following our campaign against the company. They also barred ‘child sex doll’ and ‘girl sex doll’ search terms. Temu is the 5th major online shopping platform we have forced to remove child sex abuse dolls.
As well, Etsy banned porn and sex dolls on its platform - and barred search terms for both - following our long campaign and petition.
Melbourne-based global t-shirt company TeePublic withdrew hundreds of sexualised baby onesies from sale – with slogans including “I f*** on the first date”, “I love c**” and “Choke me, it’s the only way I learn” – after we accused them of normalising child sexual abuse.
Shein removed fishnet stockings for babies (yes, really) after our campaign.
Sexist products/signs pulled
Canberra Thai restaurant CocoNine removed a ‘peeping’ bathroom sign overnight after we called them out.
Boss Outdoor South Nowra pulled sexist stubby holders from sale after our two-hour flash campaign.
Well known craft and hobby store Spotlight removed pimp costumes trivialising violence against women in the sex trade following condemnation from a sex trafficking survivor.
Playboy branding challenged
Playboy ANZ, the Australian arm of global porn brand Playboy clothing, closed down.
The National Breast Cancer Foundation charity instructed Playboy-owned sex store Honey Birdette to end its fundraising agreement early and remove their logo from promotions.
OnlyFans predators cancelled
OnlyFans pornographer and predator Bonnie Blue, who planned to film sex with schoolboys during Schoolies, had her visa cancelled. We supported the campaign initiated by survivor and advocate Harrison James.
Peppers Soul (Accor) Surfers Paradise cancelled the booking of another OnlyFans porn performer, Kay Manuel, who had advertised plans to film pornographic content with male school leavers at the hotel.
Manuel’s Schoolies billboard promotion - in which the OF performer was depicted as a school teacher - was removed by Goa billboard company.
Perth Repco SuperCars family event was finally made porn-free a year after our campaign calling on event organisers and MotorSport Australia to stop allowing family events to be used for OnlyFans promos.
Government acts on porn and social media harms
The Federal Government announced an age verification trial to help prevent children’s exposure to pornography. The trial, run by CS partner the UK Association of Age Assurance Providers, began in December.
After years of pressure and an Open Letter spearheaded by Collective Shout and signed by more than 50 child protection and women’s safeguarding experts, the Government reversed an earlier decision against a trial.
Federal Parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 which raises the minimum age for social media access to 16. We advocated for raising the age including in evidence before the Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society which was cited a number of times in the committee’s final report.
We were also successful in our push to not allow Snapchat to be exempt.
The Federal Government also legislated against distribution of ‘deepfake pornography’. The parliamentary committee examining the issue recommended the Attorney’s General continue to work on developing uniform laws across states and territories to stop creation as well as distribution - one of our recommendations.
Online platforms forced to remove child abuse accounts
An Instagram account facilitating sexual exploitation of little girls was removed following our report.
An Instagram account soliciting sexual services was reported and removed.
Pinterest removed sexualised images of teen girls.
Deepfake CSAM of US girl Presley Elise was taken down from X (formerly Twitter) after our report to eSafety.
eSafety upheld our complaint re a child sex abuse doll X account, issuing a take-down notice in response.
Investment firms divest strip club/Playboy stock
RCI Hospitality dumped strip shares after our calls to divest.
Investor Trinity dumped Playboy shares after we called them out.
Christian investor Aptus dumped $2.25m strip club shareholding after our calls to divest.
Ongoing Campaigns
We also made advances on a range of other campaigns including exposing the harms of undressing/deepnude apps and AI generated porn; exposing AI images of little boys in fetish gear on Instagram; exposing Walmart for selling Playboy merch; highlighting how porn culture promotes and normalises male violence and abuse against women and girls, including strangulation; called out global e-commerce platform Shein for selling child sex abuse dolls, exposing Crime Stoppers International for a paid engagement with Aylo/Pornhub and continued to expose the failings of ad industry self-regulation including sex store Honey Birdette’s 80th advertising code of ethics violation.
HIGHLIGHTS
"It's out of control ... it's insidious ... it's not okay!"
We released the findings of our national survey of Australian school teachers, the ‘Sexual Harassment of Teachers’ [SHoT] report which revealed widespread sexual harassment of female teachers and female students by male students. The report, published in partnership with parenting author and educator Maggie Dent, received national media attention.
Team at Washington global sexual exploitation summit; MTR receives global award
MTR, Caitlin, Coralie and Renee travelled to Washington, DC to attend the peak gathering of global anti-sexual exploitation campaigners, the Coalition to End Sexploitation [CESE] Summit. MTR spoke on harmful sexual behaviours in schools and Caitlin on the global trade in sex abuse dolls.
MTR was presented an award for ‘Global Impact’ at the Gala dinner.
UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Reem Alsalem, delivered a report on prostitution, (citing Collective Shout), which found prostitution is a form of violence against women and girls and called for the abolitionist approach to the sex trade – which we support.
We met Ms Alsalem in Washington – watch MTR’s interview with her below.
Media
Our campaigner Lyn Swanson Kennedy featured on ABC’s 4 Corners in an episode on ‘Kidfluencers’, exposing the role of corporates in promoting and profiting from the sexual exploitation of girls.
(Four Corners: Keana Norton)
We were quoted and our work cited in a range of national and global media.
Submissions
This year we contributed a record 10 submissions to state and federal Government and regulatory body inquiries, including social media age limits, online safety codes and AI-enabled deepfake porn/Image Based Abuse.
Schools and community engagement
In 2024, through the work of our Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist, we reached 15,000 students in private and public schools in regional and country areas and capital cities across the country with our message. They were encouraged to stand up to harmful cultural messages, resist the harmful impacts of pornography, clarify values, enforce boundaries and aspire to respectful relationships. We also reached over 500 educators, 2500 parents and members of the wider community along with frontline service providers and professionals.
(Pics with permission)
As well as the global summit in Washington, MTR also addressed the global World Without Orphans summit in Thailand, on the links between pornography, child sexual abuse and trafficking. This event was attended by 600 delegates from 42 nations.
MTR presented on our behalf at the global Age Assurance Standards Summit and co-presented a masterclass on ‘Safeguarding Our Schools - Addressing and Preventing Harmful Sexual Behaviours’ - with Kelly Humphries and Maha Melhem at the Trauma Aware Education conference in Brisbane. She also addressed the Professional Development Day for Family Support Services hosted by Catholic Care Rockhampton during Queensland Child Protection Week and chaired a session at the Ai Law and Community Engagement symposium ‘The Evolving Landscape of Ai’ at Monash University.
Crossed Off
We released our 2024 Crossed Off list - our annual blacklist of companies which objectify women and sexualise girls for profit in advertising and products – so our supporters know who to avoid this Christmas
CSR Pledge Partners
We don't just boycott the offenders. We also promote companies and small businesses who respect women and girls. Please support them this Christmas and through the year. See our pledge partners here.
As always, we thank you for your ongoing support without which these victories would not have been possible. We look forward to seeing what we can achieve together in 2025!
See our previous Wins and Highlights below.
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