Australia’s censor has cited the “literary, artistic and educational merits’’ of a novel depicting the violent gang rapes of young girls and dismissed a comic book rape scene as “dark humour’’. The federal government’s Australian Classification Board has given a green light to the newly published novel Ostend, written by an Australian-based author using the name Maxsense Maximus. The board’s controversial clearance of the book – denounced by child safety and domestic violence groups – comes within weeks of the Albanese government’s introduction of world-first legislation banning children younger than 16 from using social media, on the grounds of “social harm’’. Extracts from the book, in which a female character recalls in graphic and sordid detail how men gang raped her at the age of nine, are included in the board’s report outlining its decision. The description is too explicit to be repeated in a newspaper but refers to rapists “moving hectically like pistons into a too-small cylinder chamber’’.
The Classification Board examined the book’s detailed description of an 11-year-old girl being raped and tortured, “in the company of two pedophiles”, who used a household appliance to asphyxiate the child. The book includes an explicit sex scene that describes the “pre-pubescent flatness’’ of the breasts of a female character, Lucy. Despite the reference to a child’s body, the Classification Board report states that “it is clear Lucy is an adult’’. The book, published by the Sydney-based Euraus Developments Pty Ltd, is described as a “crime thriller fiction novel in which an ordinary American man travels to Amsterdam and dismantles a sex trafficking ring.’’ “The publication contains discreet descriptions of sexual activity, general interest stories and sexual violence involving children,’’ it states. “The descriptions of sexual violence against children are referred to during conversations between characters or otherwise described as being viewed in the form of documentary evidence by the characters; it is not witnessed first-hand by the main protagonist or the victims. “As such, some of the content may not be suitable for younger readers.’’
The Classification Board gave the book an unrestricted classification, with a recommendation that it not be read by children younger than 15 – a mature rating that still allows the novel to be sold in bookstores and online or borrowed from public libraries. “Within the context of this publication, the treatment of … sex is not high in impact and is not exploitative, offensive, gratuitous or very detailed,’’ the board states in its decision. “Given the context of the publication’s narrative and its literary, artistic and educational merits, the board does not consider that the publication contains material that offends a reasonable adult to the extent that it should be restricted.’’ In a separate decision that has appalled rape support groups, the censor has interpreted a violent sex scene in a comic book, The Boys: Omnibus Volume Two, as “consensual’’. The cartoon depicts a man having sex with a woman as he grabs her hair and shoves her head under a cushion. The speech balloons show the man saying, “You stupid slapper. I’ll come to your house an’ I’ll kill your husband an’ I’ll kill your two little kids and then I’ll kill you.’’
The board’s June 2023 decision report describes the comic book as “satirical’’ and depicting “an animosity between two characters which is often expressed through aggressive sexual interactions’’. “The publication unfolds through a series of episodes that clearly takes place in an unrealistic world, with stylistic emphasis on exaggeration and dark humour that is satirical in tone and intention,’’ it states. The board’s report describes the scene in the comic book where a female character, Rayner, is “being forcefully pushed by the back of her head into the rear seat of the couch, face-first, by Butcher’s (the male character’s) hand’’ while the woman repeats, “I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!’’ “There appears to be fear on Rayner’s face, yet Butcher is portrayed with an amused and self-satisfied smile,’’ the Classification Board states in its decision report. “In the view of the board, these sex scenes between Butcher and Rayner depict sexual activity that appears to role-play hostility and aggression, but at no point is there any indication that the activity is non-consensual.
“The scenes are further mitigated by the darkly humorous tone and the implication throughout the narrative that while their relationship is presented as antagonistic and competitive, these sexual interactions are entirely consenting and seemingly inevitable whenever they meet. “In the Board’s opinion, the presentation of themes and sex in this way is not exploitative, offensive or gratuitous.’’ Children’s safety advocates have condemned the Classification Board’s decisions, which coincide with the introduction of Respectful Relationships lessons in schools, and a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign against domestic violence. Hetty Johnston, the founder of Bravehearts and co-chair of the federal government’s National Office of Child Safety’s advisory board, said both publications contained “violent porn’’. “The bottom line is children are being sexually assaulted and we shouldn’t be describing that in detail to sell a book,’’ she said. “I don’t accept that the (Classification) Board can walk by or pass that kind of material and I don’t think anyone in the community with half an ounce of decency would accept it either.’’
Ms Johnston said The Boys comic book was “clearly describing rape scenes deliberately created to be salacious to some readers’’. “This is violent porn,’’ she said. “I am astounded at the board’s finding that these images depict consenting adults. “Her face is one of terror and anger – not consent – and the threats made to the woman about killing her and her family makes it crystal clear this was rape and not consensual sex. “In a country where domestic and sexual violence is at horrific levels, where women are being murdered by men at a rate of one every 11 days, where two in five women have experienced violence since the age of 15, these depictions further promote sexual violence as a realistic go-to response by men over women.’’ Collective Shout, a charity that lobbies against the sexualisation of children, said the decisions show the Classification Board “is incapable of putting the wellbeing of young people and the community first’. ’Board members have given the tick of approval to titles depicting the pornographic torture of women,’’ Collective Shout director Melinda Tankard Reist said.
“Some of the scenes read straight out of porn genres featuring the most extreme violence against women … where they are suffocated, and men are depicted as enjoying their fear and pain. “The comic book style is attractive to children (and) the storyline educates boys to think men should dominate, degrade and abuse women. “Girls learn that they deserve to be mistreated, that sex is about power and violence, and rape and sexual assault are normal.’’ Ms Tankard Reist said the Classification Board should include experts in child safety and development, and rape and sexual abuse trauma. “We don’t understand how board members could arrive at the conclusion that the content and literary and artistic merit is of low impact, discreet and ‘not exploitative’,’’ she said. The Boys: Omnibus Volume Two is published by Dynamite Entertainment and written and illustrated by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson and John Higgins. A spokeswoman for the Australian Classification Board said that the novel Ostend had been classified as unrestricted on December 17, with consumer advice of “M – not recommended for readers under 15 years of age’’.
“The Board considered the context of the work, including its fictional nature, target audience, and literary merit, in assessing themes of sexual violence and child sex trafficking,’’ she said. “The Classification Board is an independent body that makes classification decisions according to education and guidelines, free from government influence’’. Conservative activist Bernard Gaynor said both publications should have been banned as the board’s decisions were “legally wrong’’. The National Classification Code states that “adults should be able to read, hear, see and play what they want’’. But it also requires censorship decisions to “take account of community concerns about violence, sexual violence and the portrayal of persons in a demeaning manner’’. The code states that publications should be refused classification – banned from being imported or sold in Australia – if they contain “descriptions or depictions of child sexual abuse”, or if they contain “gratuitous, exploitative or offensive descriptions or depictions of sexual violence or sexual activity involving minors’’.
Source: Compiled by APN from media reports
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