This ad appears regularly in the Star and the Saturday Star:
"SX18
adult text sex
for hardcore text sex
sms 'SX18' to 35880 for:
GIRL
BOY
GIRL&GIRL
GIRL&BOY
BOY&BOY
for hardcore sex fantasy
chatroom sms 'SX18' to
33550 and join in"
The ad is bold and features a photo of two naked bodies. It is placed directly in the main body of the Star newspaper. It is placed among articles of general interest, the types of articles that pre-teen and teen children are encouraged by teachers to read, to keep up with current-events and to reinforce their general knowledge.
This is unacceptable.
"Hardcore sex fantasy" is general knowledge which should be reserved for adults only, and accesible to adults only. This ad puts it in our children's faces, in language which applies to them ie: "Girl and Boy" rather than "Man and Woman", and illustrates its intention graphically ie: with a photo of people ready for sex. All children are curious, and many children have access to cellphones. I have personally witnessed a case in which a 12 year old girl was harrassed by a boy who sent her such messages. She only understood half of the terms used, but that half was enough to make her feel utterly violated, and nescessitated an explanation of the other half because she wanted to know what was being said to her, even though she was not ready to know. I am sure this is not an uncommon case. We are seeing age-inappropriate sexual activity as well as sexual abuse exponentially increasing among children due in part to a flood of sexually explicit material available in mainstream media, and a line must be drawn.
I believe this ad is in direct conflict with published ASASA principles.
I repeat, this ad is displayed openly in the main body of the daily newspaper. Children dial numbers with as much ease as adults do, they can read by age 8, and they look at pictures. Selling sex to children is abuse.
I demand the removal of this ad from mainstream media. Let them put it in an adult magazine, where it belongs, away from children. It is time to realise that our children are worth as much if not more than advertising revenue.
