OBJECT has launched an online petition to the Prime Minister calling on the Government to introduce anti-sexism regulation for the media. This should recognise lads' mags and newspapers like The Sport as part of the pornography industry and regulate them accordingly. Where sold, these publications should be covered, placed on the top shelf and age-restricted.

Sign the petition here

    

Lads’ mags and newspapers like The Sport objectify women by portraying them as sexual objects. They are often as contemptuous of women as top shelf pornography and they are directly linked to pornography and prostitution through adverts in their back pages. These publications should be recognised as part of the pornography industry and if sold, they should be covered up, put on the top shelf and age-restricted. 

    
The growing sexualisation of women and girls in the media promotes attitudes which underpin and legitimise gender inequality and violence against women by portraying women as objects and not real people. 
    
We urge the government to fulfil its multiple international obligations to tackle the sexual objectification of women in the media by extending anti-racial discrimination measures to include anti-sex discrimination measures, and by mainstreaming gender equality into media regulation. 
    
This should be seen as a crucial part of the cross-governmental violence against women strategy and a central component of ongoing work to promote gender equality.