Oz Govt. not taking action on call for banning raunchy videos

Melbourne, Aug 21 (ANI): The Aussie Government is said to have decided not to take any action on banning raunchy music videos and sexual images that have been described as being too sexually explicit for children.

A Senate committee wanted stricter advertising controls and tighter classification laws on videos and ads.

According to the Herald Sun, the Government's response to the committee was described by child development experts, and family and women's groups last night as "pitiful" and "wishy washy".

Raunchy videos including Jessica Simpson's 'These Boots are Made for Walking', Christina Aguilera's 'Dirrty', and Kylie Minogue's 'Spinning Around' are among those cited by groups as being popular with children but having over-the-top sexualised dance music.

But the television and advertising industry will continue to be mostly self-regulated, and raunchy videos will still be allowed.

The Government said there was a "low level" of community concern about music videos, and said it had no power over the Advertising Standards Board, a private organisation.

Barbara Biggins, of the Australian Council on Children in the Media, said young children's exposure to sex-charged videos was a serious concern.

"Children are increasingly exposed to a hyper-sexualised media in what has been described as the 'pornification' of our culture," News.com.au quoted her as saying.

"This report does little to allay community concerns about the sexualisation of children in the media," she said.

Julie Gale, of Kids Free 2B Kids, said the response showed a continued reluctance to respond to concerns about the sexualisation of children.

"It also fails to address many of the concerns of child development professionals and increasing evidence from research," she said.

Family First senator Steve Fielding said the Government had gone soft on the issue.

"The response is weak. Someone's got to them," Senator Fielding said.

Women's advocate and author Melinda Tankard Reist was also disappointed.

"It appears as though industry has got off lightly again," she added.

Dozens of submissions to the committee charged that over-sexed media images were contributing to eating disorders, depression, anxiety, body image dissatisfaction, self-harm, low self-esteem, and children acting sexually. (ANI)