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Here we go again with irresponsible retailers selling inappropriate slogan t-shirts to teens and tweens. We've seen it before and unless retailers start getting the message that adult sexualised themes are not acceptable for kids, it will continue. Supre's Santa's Bitch and North Pole Dancer slogans perpetuate the sexualised messages young girls are bombarded with in their contemporary media environment.

Quoting from the Daily Telegraph 5/1/10

But the tops, on sale at tweenie chain Supre, have earned the ire of (NSW) Premier Kristina Keneally.

"Children should remain children. These T-shirts are overtly sexual and they're inappropriate. We want to live in a society that values young women - and creates positive images for their development," she said.

Kids Free 2B kids welcomes Premier Keneally's comments. She joins a fast increasing groundswell of people in the community who have had enough - including high profile child development professionals.

Kids Free 2B Kids and others contacted Supre management before Christmas and understood that the slogan t-shirts were being withdrawn.

We note with interest that the withdrawal of products by Supre and in the past Cotton On and Target, is more like... "Tell them we'll withdraw it to get them off our backs...but actually let's see how much money we can make by putting it out for sale. "

When retailers who specifically market to teens and children don't care about the impact on their target market - something needs to change!

The lack of corporate social responsibility around the issue of the sexualisaton of kids is astonishing.
Let’s also not forget that after a long Freedom of Information process with the Office of Childrens Guardian in NSW, Kids Free 2B Kids discovered that David Jones and their advertising agency Saatchi and Saatchi deliberately sexualised two young girls (10 & 12 yr old) in the Alison Ashley Clothing Advertisement….
“They are 10 and 12, so slightly more adult and sexy”

 When it comes to kids - voluntary codes and self regulation don't work.

Media Release 

Header: Illegal Porn Widely Available in Higgins

Child advocacy group Kids Free 2 B Kids has called for stricter enforcement of pornography laws after discovering that magazines inciting sex with minors can be purchased in many petrol stations, milk bars and convenience stores in Higgins.

The group's founder, Julie Gale, recently acquired magazines in Malvern, Prahran, South Yarra and Windsor with titles such as Barely Legal, Live Young Girls and Just 18 featuring models who are or appear to be under 18.

They are often presented with pig-tails, pink hairclips, toys, braces on their teeth, and in school uniforms, contrary to Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) guidelines specifying that models must not appear to be under 18.

The text accompanying several of the pictures often encourages readers to view the models as children and visible magazine mastheads promote sex with minors.

"This material is frequently displayed at child-accessible heights and next to magazines like Dolly and Women's Weekly", said Ms Gale.

Greens candidate for Higgins Professor Clive Hamilton, who as head of the Australia Institute published a 2006 report on the sexualisation of children, said: "This material is child porn masquerading as adult porn and is illegal. We urgently need much stronger enforcement by the classification board and the police."

"The easy availability of this material is disturbing, promotes the sexualisation of children and is a blot on the Higgins electorate", he said.

Ms Gale said: "Recent auditing by the Classification Board found that most magazines sold in the public arena with a category 1* rating do not comply with the guidelines and are therefore illegal. Many are unclassified or warrant a refused classification."

Ms Gale said: "The classification board and the police are aware that this material is freely available everywhere yet the distributors continue to flout the law with impunity."

*Category 1 - According to Australian censorship laws Category-1 publications cannot depict graphic sexual acts and the titles should not be "offensive to any reasonable adult". The guidelines state that models should not be under 18 or "appear" to be under 18.

Cotton On has declared in a statement that they have not broken their word on the withdrawal and review of its kid's slogans range. They agreed, however, that the three slogans referred to in The Herald Sun article today had not been withdrawn from stores.

I'm a Tit's Man

I'm bringing sexy back

milk today, beer tomorrow

Just a reminder about their statement:

..."Although these products are intentionally edgy and irreverent, and the succession of this range was driven by demand, the recent attention implies that the slogans in question have crossed the line.

"Although Cotton On Kids will continue to service a market that demands confident and edgy clothing that pushes boundaries, it has been recognised that certain references are not appropriate, and will sincerely endeavour to not cross these lines again,'' the statement said.

"The Cotton On Group ... extends an apology to those who have been affected by the slogans.

It promised to withdraw offensive products from sale and stop their production and "review the ongoing slogans range to ensure no reference is made to categories pertaining to sexually explicit behaviour, child abuse, drugs and profanity.''

Read statement in The Australian  14/8/09

Note -"It promised to withdraw offensive products from sale"...

The statement only came after public pressure from around Australia and New Zealand - including comments from child development professionals, calling for the removal of the slogan t-shirts.

(Scroll down ‘Latest News' section for more information)

Note - ..."Although these products are intentionally edgy and irreverent, and the succession of this range was driven by demand..."

"Although Cotton On Kids will continue to service a market that demands confident and edgy clothing that pushes boundaries..."

Where are the parents who are supposedly demanding sexualised, child abuse and drug referenced slogans for baby's wear?

How do they demand? Do they line up at head office making requests?

Do they ring in demanding....do they petition the store and say that the public MUST have ‘edgy slogans' on baby's wear or ‘provocative humour that pushes the boundaries'.

It is the retailer who decides what to put on their shelves.

 

Kids Free 2B Kids has decided to become actively involved in the issue of under- age drinking.

The early sexualisation of young teens is a potent mix with the increasing issue of kids drinking alcohol at younger ages.

NSW, QLD and Tasmania are the only states with a secondary supply law.  "Secondary supply "generally refers to the sale or supply of alcohol to people under the age of 18 (minors) by adults or other minors.

For more information about ‘secondary supply' see the fact sheet provided by the Druginfo Clearing house.

KF2BK believes that all states and territories should be aligned with the NSW Secondary Supply laws.

Results from a recent study by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute have alarmed brain development experts who say a generation of young people are destroying their chances of reaching their full potential.

 'Any level of alcohol consumed by people under about the age of 24 is doing a different level of damage and a more serious level of damage than someone over about that age,'' said John Eyre, managing director of Alcohol Related Brain Injury Australian Services (ARBIAS).

''You're damaging brain cells that haven't even gained certain skills, knowledge, or development yet,'' Mr Eyre said. Read more.

Director of Kids Free 2B Kids, Julie Gale, has written a chapter for a new book being launched this week.

Getting Real – Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls – edited by Melinda Tankard Reist and published by Spinifex, brings together some of the most vocal critics of the widespread pornification of culture.

The book will be available in most bookstores.

Contributors include:

Noni Hazelhurst – one of Australia’s most distinguished and respected actors, and well known speaker on children and the media.

Professor Clive Hamilton – Charles Sturt Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, based at the Australian national University – and former Director of The Australia Institute.

Dr Emma Rush – lead Author of the reports ‘Corporate Paedophilia: Sexualisation of children in Australia’ and ‘Letting Children Be Children’, both published by The Australia Institute in 2006.

Professor Louise Newman – Director of the Centre for Developmental Psychiatry and Psychology at Monash University, Melbourne.

Steve Biddulph – Psychologist and author whose parenthood books are in four million homes in 29 languages worldwide.

Tania Andrusiak – Writer and Editor and co author of ‘Adproofing Your Kids’ also being launched in September. (Finch Publishing)

Maggie Hamilton – Publisher and author of the recent book ‘What’s happening to our girls?

Dr Lauren Rosewarne – Lecturer in public policy in the school of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne. Author of Sex in Public: Women in Outdoor Advertising and Public Policy.

Other contributors – Dr Abigail Bray, Dr Melissa Farley, Selena Ewing, Dr Renate Klein, Dr Betty McLellan,

On July 22 The Herald Sun reported that Julie Gale Director of Kids Free 2B Kids called for Cotton On to withdraw it's sexualised slogan babywear.

Cotton On Group marketing manager Emily Checinski said "...there's definitely a place in our society for provocative humour that pushes the boundaries".

New Zealand groups joined in the debate and called for people to Boycott the store.

Another Cotton On slogan baby t-shirt  - 'They shake me' - was discussed in the media yesterday. (14/8/09)

Later in the afternoon, The Australian newspaper announced that Cotton On would finally withdraw much of it's slogan range.

 Julie Gale has this to say:                                                                                                            

Issues like the sexualisation and abuse of children aren't humorous. They are serious.       Retailers, marketers and advertisers need to wake up and recognise that the community has had enough. They all need to be proactive in their responsibility to children, instead of only taking action after community outcry.

• Adult sexualised innuendo/humour does not belong on children's/baby wear. It should be a no-go zone!
• Children/babies become billboards, and this is involuntary exposure for other kids, siblings and  friends to receive those messages.
• One of the strong messages is that this is OK. It's acceptable...it's normal.
• It's part of the normalisation & desensitisation of what many academics are calling the pornificaiton of society and is symbolic of the broader issue of the sexualisation of children.
• Sexualised messages have become so all pervasive in our society that there are no longer any boundaries. It is no longer the preserve of adulthood.
• When retailers happily promote 'edgy' and 'provocative humour that pushes the boundaries on babyswear - then it is a clear sign that we have crossed a line.

Printed in Letters to the editor, The Age Newspaper, July 31

More signatories have been added to the original  15.

Media Statement 

Fourteen year old rape victim violated again by radio stunt.

Child advocates call for protections for children in the media.

The lie detector radio stunt on 2Day FM involving a 14-year-old girl who revealed she had been raped at age 12, was a gross violation of her human rights.

The girl, Rachel, was strapped to a lie detector test, to be interrogated about school, drugs and her sexual experience by Austereo's Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O and the girl’s mother.

Rachel was deliberately subjected to fear and distress. Her protests that she was scared and that it wasn’t fair were ignored. 

It is the height of irresponsibility to hook any child up to a lie detector test. This is compounded when the intention is to expose a girl to a live outing of her sexual experience. 

Regardless of any excuses about lack of advance knowledge that the girl had been raped, there is little doubt the aim was to publicly shame the child.

A young girl’s sexual experience is not relevant or appropriate for the entertainment of anyone.

Dragging a child onto the media stage to be interrogated with a lie detector about her sexuality is a horrific invasion of her rights. There is a well founded legal assumption of vulnerability and a need for protection of children at this age, which the station has ignored.

This form of public outing and humiliation is abhorrent and must be condemned.  There needs to be a penalty.

What took place in the radio studio was child abuse and should be acknowledged as such. Increasing desensitisation to the needs of children needs to stop.

This program should be axed. 

We call for a national strategy for the prevention of child abuse and exploitation, including in the media.

The Hon Alastair Nicholson AO RFD QC, Former Justice of the Family Court and Founding Patron, Children’s Rights International

Tim Costello, CEO, World Vision Australia

Steve Biddulph, psychologist and author

Professor Louise Newman, Director, Monash University Centre for Developmental Psychiatry & Psychology

Maggie Hamilton, teacher, author, What’s happening to our girls?

Dr Michael Carr-Gregg, Adolescent psychologist

Barbara Biggins, OAM, Hon CEO Australian Council on Children and the Media

Professor Elizabeth Handsley, Professor of Law, Flinders University

Clive Hamilton, AM, Professor of Public Ethics at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics

Noni Hazlehurst, AM, Actor, child advocate

Julie Gale, Director, Kids Free 2B Kids

Dannielle Miller, CEO, Enlighten Education

Carla Meurs, Co-ordinator, Solving the Jigsaw

Dr Renate Klein, women and girls health activist

Melinda Tankard Reist, Editor Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls (forthcoming).

Dr Judith Slocombe, CEO, The Alannah and Madeline Foundation

Brother Paul Smith, AM, CEO The Lasallian Foundation

Bill Jackson, CEO, Children's  Rights International

Bernadette McMennamin,  AO, CEO, Childwise.

Suzanne Dvorak, CEO, Save the Children.

 July 29, 2009

Media Enquires: Julie Gale: 0412922253, Melinda Tankard Reist: 0414305378

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information laws completely vindicate claims by The Australia Institute that retailer David Jones used advertisements that sexualised children as young as 10, according to advocacy group Kids Free 2B Kids. The documents reveal a brief asking for girls aged 10 and 12 to be "more adult and sexy". The girls appeared in an Alison Ashley advertisement created by the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi for David Jones.

"Saatchi & Saatchi hired a top law firm to fight tooth and nail to prevent these documents being released but, after a year-long battle and various appeals, the NSW Ombudsman has finally ordered that some of the material be handed over", said Kids Free 2B Kids Executive Director Julie Gale.

At the time David Jones vigorously denied accusations in the Australia Institute's report, Corporate Paedophilia, claiming the company would never eroticise children and had policies to prevent it. The company sued the Institute and its Executive Director, Dr Clive Hamilton, under the Trade Practices Act but,subsequently dropped the action.

Saatchi & Saatchi responded to the Institute's claims in 2006 saying: "We have never, ever eroticised children in any way for any client in any communication. Not only is the idea repugnant to us, we take very seriously the fact that David Jones is a family brand."

"We now have proof that while David Jones and Saatchi were issuing strong denials they had in fact presented young girls who had been deliberately made to look sexy", said Ms Gale. "The Alison Ashley advertisement that featured in the Good Weekend was the one singled out by the Australia Institute as beyond the pale. The Australia Institute and many others could see that the girls were being eroticised, why couldn't David Jones?", she said.

"The child models who were asked to adopt sexually provocative poses were betrayed, and so were their parents, who entrusted their children to those responsible," she said

Ms Gale called on David Jones to issue apologies to the children, their parents and the Australia Institute.The FoI request was made to the NSW Office of the Children's Guardian which regulates the employment of child models. The Office approved the advertising brief even though it indicated that the young girls would be posed as "slightly more adult and sexy".

DJs & Saatchi approved sexed-up kids. So why come after us? Clive Hamilton. Crikey. 2/6/09

 

KF2BK founder, Julie Gale, will be one of the speakers at the Generation Next seminar series which will be held at various locations around Australia this year. Click here to find out more about the program location and dates.