Anne McEwen (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Environment, Communications and the Arts Committee, Sexualisation of children in the contemporary media, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

This inquiry by the Senate Standing Committee on the Environment, Communications and the Arts, which resulted in this report, has received much attention from the media and the public. More than 160 submissions were received from community groups, academics and everyday Australians who have taken an interest in the issue of the sexualisation of children in the contemporary media. I note at the outset that this is a comprehensive report about a complex issue, and I urge people interested in the committee’s deliberations to consider the report in its entirety, including its recommendations, and not just accept pre-emptive media speculation about what may or may not be in this report. I acknowledge that this inquiry came about on the motion of Senator Lyn Allison, who today is retiring from the Senate. Her longstanding interest in and commitment to childhood development and rights and protections is to be applauded. I thank her in particular for her work on this inquiry.

Sexualised images and actions are increasingly widely portrayed and discussed in the media and used ever more explicitly as a marketing device. There is, it seems, no doubt that the adage ‘sex sells’ is indeed true, and we and our children are exposed daily to adverts, songs, magazines, programs and products that have sexual themes. The committee accepted that these developments may have a negative influence on child development, although the actual extent and effect of that influence is not well researched, particularly in Australia. Many things influence a child’s development—their family, their peers, economic circumstances, diet and education all have an impact. What children see and hear in the media is but one influence amongst many.

The committee approached this enquiry from the position that, in a free society, the rights of adults to see, hear and purchase what they wish is a value that should not be interfered with lightly. It is also a responsibility of society to protect its children from things that may harm them. As I said in the previous report of this committee into the broadcasting codes of practice, achieving the correct balance between freedom and protection is difficult, but it should be the objective. The committee also notes the key responsibility of parents to manage the material to which their children are exposed. Particularly in the case of younger children, these decisions are still primarily in the hands of parents or other adults.

The report also notes that there is an onus on broadcasters, publishers, advertisers, retailers and manufacturers to take account of community concerns on the issue that is the subject of this report. The committee noted that the Australian Association of National Advertisers has developed a code for advertising and marketing to children to specifically address this issue. Perhaps Senator Fielding might have paid attention to that before he wrote the supplementary comments to this report.

In our report the committee recognises the importance of supporting parents and children in dealing with the pressures that confront them in contemporary society and in responding to exposure to sex and sexual themes in the contemporary media. The report recommends an upgrading of sexual health and relationships programs for school children, greater parental involvement in the development and delivery of such programs and the need for a national approach to the subject.

The committee did not come down with findings about banning products or censoring media, but it does recommend tightening the operation of the regulations and codes of practice which seek to inform parents as to the content of television programs or publications and to protect children from material which they would find disturbing or that is inappropriate to their stage of development.

The committee recommends that the current rules in relation to children’s television should be amended to enable children’s material to be shown at more suitable times and that broadcasters should consider establishing dedicated children’s television channels. In our earlier report on broadcasting the committee also recommended tightening up G, PG and M classifications and the consumer advice that accompanies them.

Broadcasting and advertising are the subject of self-regulatory or co-regulatory regimes which classify material and deal with complaints having regard to community standards. The many submissions that the committee received, particularly about the content of advertising but also with regard to magazines marketed to young girls and teenage girls, suggest that the regulators need to try harder in assessing and reflecting contemporary community standards. The committee recommends, as it did in its earlier report on broadcasting, that the regulators, especially the Australian Communications and the Media Authority and the Advertising Standards Board, put more effort into this important area. There is a recommendation that the ASB apply the advertising standards for billboards and outdoor advertising to take account of community concerns about the inability of parents to restrict exposure of such material to children.

The complaints processes available to the public are a major focus of community concern, with people feeling confused, frustrated and ultimately baffled by how to make a complaint. The committee has made recommendations to make these processes simpler, more accessible and more responsive.

The committee is also keenly aware of the limitations and practical difficulties of research into the subject of this report. It is not easy to interview children about matters to do with sex and sexual themes. However, those difficulties notwithstanding, the report recommends that the Commonwealth should commission a major long-term study on the impact of inappropriate sexualisation on child development.

I would like to thank all the people and organisations who made submissions to this enquiry and who appeared at our public hearings. My thanks to other committee members for their cooperation during the inquiry and to the secretariat for their assistance. As I said earlier, I would particularly like to thank Senator Lyn Allison for initiating this inquiry and for her participation in the inquiry.