Sex Party Calls for Intervention Over ACL Ban on Safe Sex Advertising
The Australian Sex Party has expressed dismay and disgust at the new low of the Australian Christian Lobby, who have forced the removal of a safe-sex public health campaign targeted at the gay community in Brisbane. The Party has asked the Advertising Standards Bureau to intervene and will also refer the issue to the House of Reps Committee on Outdoor Advertising.
“The ACL complained that the ad depicted ‘two men in the act of foreplay’. The ad actually depicts two men fully clothed,” said Sex Party Queensland Coordinator, Rory Killen. “Innumerable similar ads cover the city depicting heterosexual couples. Only unashamed homophobia could lead someone to single these ads out as offensive.”
The ‘Rip & Roll’ ads form part of a Queensland Association for Healthy Communities campaign to promote awareness about safe-sex in the gay community. 2010 was a record year for HIV diagnoses, with more persons diagnosed with the STI since records began. 65% of diagnoses were from the gay community.
“The Christian Lobby’s attack against QAHC and the ads is supposedly prompted by a concern for the welfare of children,” continued Mr Killen. “I’m concerned about the welfare of young people growing up without adequate awareness of safe sexual practices, if ads like these can’t be displayed.”
Mr Killen said, “It’s ridiculous. It only takes one complaint to trigger a response, only one person to take umbrage and put their bigotry ahead of public health. This case puts the onus on the federal parliamentary committee looking into outdoor advertising laws to reform them so that common sense can prevail. These ads are not offensive, if anything they are substantially more tasteful than many ads about which no complaints are made.”
The posters were displayed on bus shelters around Brisbane by the advertising company Adshel. Similar billboards are also displayed by Goa who is not removing the material.
“I question why Adshel caved so quickly and pulled the ads. I think it’s quite appropriate that the City Council and State Government clarify to Adshel that these ads are acceptable on bus shelters, that the ads be replaced, and that additional funding and priority is given to the QAHC campaign to repair the damage that has been done to public health and community safety.”
The ‘offending’ ad:
http://qahc.org.au/files/shared/docs/Rip___Roll_Adshel_Advert.pdf
For further comment, please contact:
Rory Killen
Australian Sex Party, Queensland Branch: 1.6.11
0413 471 104
rkillen@sexparty.org.au
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