Australian parents are waking up to their kids being sexualised without their knowledge.
You may have heard about the controversial new Australian children’s book being sold at Big W, Target, Dymocks, and other Australian stores. The book in question, ‘Welcome to Sex’, is basically a graphic sex guide for kids.
The so-called sex education book targeted at 10 to 15-year-olds, includes graphic descriptions of sexual activities like anal sex, rimming, hand jobs, blow jobs, fingering, scissoring, and masturbation.
It advises children how to send nudes by cropping out their heads.
It also aggressively pushes gender ideology on children, undermining the nature and importance of biological sex.
One of the book’s co-authors believes the material in the book is suitable for children as young as 8.
Within 24 hours of Women’s Forum Australia and other concerned groups and individuals – predominantly upset parents – calling out the inappropriate, sexually explicit material in the book, Big W pulled the book from its shelves.
This is a HUGE WIN, and shows what happens when we all stand up together to protect our kids.
Big W claimed that the reason it removed the book from its stores was due to retail staff being abused by those upset about the book. We don't know whether such reports are true, whether "abuse" simply means disagreement, or whether this was a convenient narrative to shift the blame away from Big W who were at the centre of a PR nightmare. It has also been reported that one of the book's co-authors, Yumi Stynes, has been the target of vicious online trolling. It should go without saying that we unreservedly condemn any abuse, of anyone.
The book is still being sold online at Big W, and in store at Target, Dymocks, and other Australian retailers, as well in being stocked in public libraries and school libraries. This is despite the book being utterly inappropriate for its intended 10 to 15-year-old audience.
We recognise that adults are free to read what they like, and this includes this book if they so wish. There are, however, genuine child safeguarding concerns around the promotion to, and accessibility of, this book to children.
Safeguards need to be in place to protect our kids.
Women’s Forum Australia has launched a campaign to call on businesses, schools, and governments to actively protect children from sexually explicit material.
The book ‘Welcome to Sex’, which normalises child sexual activity, needs to be viewed in its wider context, where across the western world, there is a movement to sexualise children and break down their barriers.
We’ve already seen what we can achieve when we raise our voices loudly together. It's time to stand up and say enough is enough – leave our kids alone.
Add your name to our campaign today to stop the sexualisation of children by this harmful book, and get the appropriate safeguards put in place for our children.
We will be sending out regular updates and calls to action to everyone who signs, so you can join us every step of the way in this fight to protect our kids!
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE SEXUALISATION OF OUR KIDS HERE.
Women’s Forum Australia is an independent think tank that undertakes research, education and public policy advocacy on issues affecting women and girls, with a particular focus on addressing behaviours and practices that are harmful and abusive to them. We are a non-partisan, non-religious, tax-deductible charity. We do not receive any government funding and rely solely on donations to make an impact. Support our work today.
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