Australians Against Child Sexploitation

'Thousands of accounts examined by The Times offer disturbing insights into how social media is reshaping childhood, especially for girls, with direct parental encouragement and involvement. Some parents are the driving force behind the sale of photos, exclusive chat sessions and even the girls’ worn leotards and cheer outfits to mostly unknown followers. The most devoted customers spend thousands of dollars nurturing the underage relationships.'

Reporters of this NYT investigation analysed 2.1 million Instagram posts, monitored months of online chats of professed p*dophiles, and interviewed over 100 people, including parents and children.

'“You are so s*xy,” read one comment on an image of a 5-year-old girl in a ruffled bikini. “Those two little things look great thru ur top,” said another on a video of a girl dancing in a white cropped shirt, who months later posted pictures of her 11th birthday party.

Over the last 5 years Collective Shout Campaigner, Lyn Swanson Kennedy, has been exposing the s*xual exploitation of girls under the guise of child modelling on Instagram, often via parent-run accounts. In a recent interview on ABC's Four Corners Lyn condemned the role of Big Tech in promoting and profiting from the s*xualisation and exploitation of children:

"They are willing to prioritise profit over children's safety and wellbeing. We want to see corporations putting safety measures in place and not utilising children to essentially be billboards for their brands."

You can read the full NYT investigation here >> https://nytimes.pulse.ly/2m54sdsyfk

The Australian Institute of Criminology has found that parents who share their children’s content online are being asked by predators to facilitate child s*xual exploitation.

Parents reported being:
❌ Asked questions of a s*xual nature about children they knew
❌ Offered payment for s*xual images of children they knew
❌ Asked for s*xual images of children they knew
❌ Pressured for s*xual images of children they knew

“The federal government is reviewing the Online Safety Act to see how it can be strengthened to protect Australians from social media harms and ensure the digital media industry acts in the best interests of children.”

Read more>> https://com.pulse.ly/rjxhgskmkd

For years we have been calling for measures to protect children from online predators, and a ban on “parent run” social media accounts which put young girls at risk of s*xual exploitation.

We have also called for urgent action to regulate how brands can engage “kidfluencers” to promote their products and services. These children are vulnerable to exploitation, with long-term effects on their health and safety. We believe corporates - and parents - must work to protect children, and never be party to their s*xual exploitation.

Read more on the blog - link in comments.

Please contact SHEIN and demand they remove these thigh-high fishnet stockings for babies

Babies in fishnets…

Why is SHEIN selling fishnet stockings for babies? And sponsoring this post to push it out into people's feed? The stockings start at sizes 0-6 months then go up 6-12m, 1-2yrs, 2-3yrs.

Our Movement Director Melinda Tankard Reist said "This major online e-commerce platform thinks it’s ok to s*xualise even babies by flogging thigh-high black fishnet stockings.

"Shein has linked babies with an item of clothing commonly associated with the s*x trade. We have documented other examples of Shien’s exploitation and adultification of children including padded bras and see-through costumes. The company must be called out for p**o whistling."

*TAKE ACTION*
Contact SHEIN today and demand they remove these inappropriate items from their website

https://au.shein.com/au/1pair-Baby-Bow-Decor-Fishnet-Over-The-Calf-Socks-p-16334601.html?mallCode=1&imgRatio=3-4&src_module=search&src_identifier=st%3D2%60sc%3DBaby%20bow%20stockings%60sr%3D0%60ps%3D0&src_tab_page_id=page_pre_search1707217088814&showFeedbackRec=1&ref=www&rep=dir&ret=au

Fast fashion giant SHEIN under fire for 's*xy' toddler clothes - including crop tops and mini skirts

A £7.49 teal velvet dress, featuring a sweetheart neckline, bodycon fit and ruched detailing, can be purchased for girls aged eight to 12.

The young model pictured on the website is leaning against a table with her chest pushed out in a suggestive manner.

And a range of padded bikinis are also being marketed to girls of the same age.

Fast fashion giant SHEIN under fire for 's*xy' children's clothes Thanks to its unbeatably low prices, the Chinese retailer has become a top shopping destination for many - shipping to more than 150 countries.

The Swedish clothing giant H&M has pulled one of its online school-season ads after being accused of s*xualization of children.

The advertisement shown on social media in Australia featured two young girls in black-and-white school uniforms holding pink backpacks. The caption said, “Make those heads turn in H&M’s Back to School fashion.”

Some users criticized the company, arguing that the combination of the imagery and the tagline were “highly inappropriate” and amounted to “shameful exploitation” of children.

“Parents generally prefer [that] heads don’t ‘turn’ when others see their daughters walking to school, on a bus or in class,” Australian women’s rights activist Melinda Tankard Reist wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Why would you want to fuel the idea that little girls should draw attention to their looks, bodies and ‘style’?”

H&M took down the advertisement after the backlash. “This ad has now been removed. We are deeply sorry for the offense this has caused and will look into how we present campaigns going forward,” the company said in a statement to the media.

EU retail giant accused of 's*xualizing children - Move FM News H&M was blasted for a marketing campaign about schoolgirls that ?make heads turn? The Swedish clothing giant H&M has pulled one of its online school-season ads after being accused of s*xualization of children. The advertisement shown on social media in Australia featured two young girls in black-and...

Parents are being warned about new AI technology which allows users to seamlessly put one person’s face onto another’s body, known as ‘deepfakes’.

While it might sound like a simple bit of Snapchat or TikTok fun, the technology is being used maliciously and illegally – and it’s frighteningly simple to do.

Teens in a US school were earlier this month reported to be using a deepfake app to create p**nographic images of their classmates.

They can even be used as a tool to manipulate and ‘s*xtort’ people, a practise of extorting money or s*xual favours from a person with the threat of revealing intimate content.

Now the conversation has turned to Australia, where experts have warned of this terrifying trend infiltrating schools across the country.

Photographs of children could easily be used without their parent’s knowledge to create explicit content.

It’s crucial to comprehend the privacy policies and settings associated with sharing online content featuring your children.

Sickening new ‘deepfake p**n’ trend sweeping Aussie schools A terrifying new p**n trend is sweeping Australian schools at an alarming rate.

So disappointing to see the governments has dismissed age verification.

‘Kicked down the road’: Australians to wait for p**n passport The e-Safety Commission says Australia should trial ways to stop children accessing online p**n – but the federal government wants to wait, to the dismay of child advocates.

“I would post innocent photos of her in a bikini, and now I just cringe when I look back because I feel I was essentially just feeding her to child predators.”

I made my kid social media famous — and it was a huge, scary mistake Some parents have big remorse about sharing images of their small children.

We've added our voice to the open letter calling on Hardie Grant Books to remove a section about headless nudes before their next print run. We encourage all our followers to sign it as well. https://www.collectiveshout.org/hardie_grant_open_letter

'No, your kids shouldn't send nudes even with their faces removed. Here's why'

'No, your kids shouldn't send nudes even with their faces removed. Here's why' A cyber safety expert has condemned a controversial book written for children as young as eight, describing it as “dangerous” and “complete misinformation”.

Protect kids from seeing p**n sites. Add your name to this petition to get this billboard down.

Sign the Petition Akerele Pty Ltd: Pull the p**n billboard!

"Any money you get will be greatly overshadowed by years of suffering."

"your child will never be normal… I never consented to being online."

"I plead [with] you to be the voice of this generation of children because I know firsthand what it’s like to not have a choice in which a digital footprint you didn’t create follows you around for the rest of your life,"

Their Parents Were Family Influencers, Now Their Kids Hate Them Shocker: bottling your kid's childhood into social media content for the sake of monetization makes their lives miserable.

Thank you Collective Shout for sharing the resource below to help us create safer online spaces for our children.

How and When to Limit Kids' Tech Use Teach your children to use technology in a healthy, responsible way. Learn what to watch for, how to set limits and stick to them, and when it's O.K. to embrace screen time.

New research highlights the risks of online gaming drawing on data from the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Check out the post below for more info including tips to create a safer gaming environment for your child.

“Meta claims there’s ‘no place’ for child exploitation on its platforms. At the same time, it facilitates it. It is absolutely failing children” - Lyn Swanson Kennedy

This week, we exposed Meta hosting Instagram accounts advertising child s*x abuse dolls. Meta claims to have “zero tolerance for child exploitation”, but this is far from the first time we have called them out for failing to protect kids on their platforms.

In November, Collective Shout campaigner Lyn Kennedy spoke to iNews about Meta’s failure to remove s*xually exploitative content of little girls on Instagram.

“Meta claims there’s ‘no place’ for child exploitation on its platforms. At the same time, it facilitates it. It is absolutely failing children,” she said.

Read more >> https://www.collectiveshout.org/meta_failing_children_inews

Check out this post by Collective Shout highlighting 'Top Apps for Concerning Content in 2022' 👇🏼

What have your experiences been using the apps listed below?

Post via Collective Shout 👇🏼

BDSM-clad characters in Netflix kids series - have you seen it?

A recent post by Consent Parenting is calling on Netflix to cancel kids cartoon series ‘Battle Kitty’ for its p**nified content including s*xualised dance moves and BDSM-clad characters.

Check out the post by Consent Parenting here >> https://www.instagram.com/p/CnUvAoLBR5q/?hl=en

We aren't liking what we've learned so far and want to hear your thoughts on this PG rated series. Let us know in the comments...

*xploitation *xualisation

Collective Shout has put together an 'Online safety for kids: Your school holiday guide'

School holidays are here and there's no better time to review the safeguards you have in place to protect your children from online predators and s*xploitation. Head to the blog below for some handy tips, resources and links to help keep your family safe these holidays.

https://www.collectiveshout.org/online_safety_for_kids_your_school_holiday_guide

Etsy continues to ignore calls for the removal of products that s*xualise children.

Help us get to 70,000 signatures on this petition before Christmas!

Sign and share the petition below with your networks, and send a strong message to that profiting from promoting and normalising in**st and child s*xual abuse is never okay.

Sign here >> www.change.org/etsyexploitation

*Take Action*
It’s been over TWO YEARS since we first exposed Etsy facilitating the sale of child s*x abuse dolls, replica child body parts and in**st and child abuse-themed merchandise, and they are yet to respond to us.

Since then, we’ve backed a petition by Anna Cordell – former Etsy seller, fashion designer, musician and mother of five – calling on Etsy to stop selling these items. So far, more than 67 000 of you have signed.

Help us get to 70 000 signatures on Anna’s petition before Christmas! Sign and share this petition with your networks, and send a strong message to Etsy that profiting from promoting and normalising in**st and child s*xual abuse is never okay.

Sign here >> www.change.org/etsyexploitation

Warning for Parents: Spotify serving up p**n to your kids

Supporters have contacted us with concerns about p**nographic content on Spotify. We’ve done our own digging and discovered an overwhelming amount of explicit audio p**n, nudes and hardcore p**n images and s*xually explicit fanfictions.

Despite Spotify’s own platform rules which state that they “don’t allow s*xually explicit content”, simply entering ! or “ into Spotify’s search bar brought up top searches including podcast 'Erotic Audio' and playlist titles 'daddy-issues but the s*xualised “choke me daddy” kind', 'i have daddy issues' and 'You’re a f*ckin’ s*x symbol'.

Entering search terms ‘p**n’ and ‘s*x’ highlighted a seemingly endless feed of p**nographic content while search terms likely to be used by kids including ‘Captain Marvel’, ‘Comic’ and ‘Loki’ revealed audio p**n titles such as 'a hot night with a black big brother big c*ck', 'male moaning, edging, and whimpering asmr’ and ‘Xiao’s Playful Side’ - a playlist of episodes narrating s*xual encounters.

Can you report these accounts? Well, Spotify says you can using the desktop app, clicking on the account name and then filling out a form. However, the report option only seems to appear for audiobooks leaving no option to report all other forms of p**nographic content currently on Spotify.

User settings do provide the ability to block ‘explicit content’, however, even with it activated, our searches revealed the same titles mentioned above.

Stay tuned for more on our investigation into Spotify. In the meantime, play it safe this holiday season and be aware of yet another platform our kids can unintentionally stumble across harmful content.

***(censoring in this post is our own)***

We love this quote we saw recently from nextTalk: "We can't parent it, if we don't understand it."

In this day and age, parents have an even harder responsibility to know what is relevant in their child's life. This FREE guide will help you bridge the gap between you and your child's world. 🙌 https://bit.ly/3wjA1tQ