Sexualisation of Young People Review supports OBJECT's calls on tackling the Media

Today the Home Office published its Review on the Sexualisation of Young People with wide-ranging recommendations to address the media.

The Review specifically cites OBJECT and recommends many of the measures OBJECT has long sought for addressing media stereotyping, inclulding those that stem from evidence given by OBJECT to the report's author, Dr Linda Papadopoulo.

Recommendetaions for improved media regulation include:

• Lads' mags to be age restricted and for regulation of their display to be replaced by mandatory codes with a clear complaints procedure in place.
• The powers of the ASA to be extended to the internet
• Local authorities to pre-vet billboard advertising as part of their gender equality duties
• Applying the 'watershed' to highly sexualised music videos
• An end to the advertising of the sex inudstry in Job Centre Plus

The report also calls for :

• Increased corporate responsibility on the sale of sexualised merchandise
• Further multi-discplinary research into the impact of media stereotyping
  
• A working group to address the sexualisation of women and girls in the media.
  

And a raft of educational measures:

• Increased media literacy from the youngest ages
• Modeules on gender equality
  
• The PSHE to be made compulsory
  
• Training for teachers and youth workers to address sexism
  
• Sexual bullying to be distinctly monitored in the same way as racial bullying.
  

OBJECT Charter: Women and the Media 

In light of this report OBJECT today launched its election Charter.
OBJECT's Charter calls on politicians to:

• Commit to the need for a socially responsible media
• Accept the need for independent regulatation of the media with mandatory codes on the sexual objectification of women and girls.
  
• Set in place a mechanism to achieve this.
  
• Take specific steps to address the sale and display of lads' mags and the Sport newspaper
  

Download the Charter here

Pyjamas or Porn?

To mark the publication of the review, pyjama-clad OBJECT protestors also gathered outside regional Tescos to raise awareness of fact that some stores recently banned shoppers from wearing pyjamas on the grounds of causing ‘offence’, yet continue to sell pornographic lads' mags alongside comics and magazines.

We will be polling shoppers to ask 'which would you rather see in your shop - pyjamas or porn?'


Full details here