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WH Smith makes displays ‘family-friendly’ in victory for Child’s Eye Line UK campaign
WH Smith has agreed to make its stores more family-friendly and display women’s weeklies that regularly feature sensationalised headlines about rape and child abuse out of sight of children following the Child’s Eye Line UK campaign.
The campaign recently persuaded Tesco, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer not to display sexualised tabloid front pages in children’s eye line.
Magazines like That’s Life, Chat and Pick Me Up had headlines like “Dad RAPED me at my 10th birthday party” on their Christmas editions which prompted many parents to say enough is enough.
WH Smith’s Stores Director told Child’s Eye Line UK:
“We empathise with how these headings could cause upset and want to reassure you we are addressing the issue. We have issued instructions to all stores to review the location of these titles and if it they are in a sensitive position to remove from sale and return. I have also passed on your feedback to the buying director for magazines and he in turn will be contacting the publishers about the suitability of this type of headline on the magazines and pointing out if they continue to do so, we will have to reconsider our position on whether we continue to stock them in our stores. We have also instructed our Central Operations team to action a periodical reminder to stores regarding the display of these titles. Once again, thank you for taking the time to feedback on this issue and I hope you can see from our actions, we have treated this most seriously. ”
Child’s Eye Line UK founder Kathy McGuinness said:
“We are delighted with WH Smith’s decision to become more family-friendly and display these magazines out of sight of children. We have been appealing to retailers to put children’s welfare before profit. Headlines featuring rape and child sexual assault are upsetting for children and triggering for victims of child sexual abuse. We are delighted that WH Smith is following the lead of other big retailers like Tesco, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer by displaying products with sexualised front pages responsibly.”
The move comes after Tesco, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer all agreed not to display sexualised tabloid front covers at child height in their stores from November last year following the Child’s Eye Line UK campaign.
The government’s Bailey Review called ‘letting children be children’ issued guidelines for retailers in 2012 that state that these magazines should not be displayed in children’s eye line. The Children’s Commissioner’s report in 2013 found that exposure to sexualised imagery is damaging to children’s self esteem and relationships and makes risky sexual behaviour more likely.
Rape Crisis England and Wales commented: “We completely agree with the campaign. Magazines like That’s Life, Chat and Love it (which feature rape and child abuse headlines on their front covers) are triggering, offensive, trivialising and ignorant of the lifelong impacts for survivors of child sexual abuse.”
When Child’s Eye Line UK met with the Minister for Crime Prevention, Norman Baker MP, in July 2014 this year he confirmed that supermarkets who display magazines and newspapers with sexualized front covers at child height are “not observing current legislation in relation to the Indecent Displays Act 1981.” Child’s Eye Line UK is campaigning for legislation to be better enforced to regulate the display of sexualised images around children.
“Child’s Eye Line UK’s concerns about publications with inappropriate or indecent images or text are fully understood and I believe the problem lies with the retailers, not the publishers,” said Norman Baker MP in a letter to Child’s Eye Line UK following the meeting at the Home Office. “I am grateful to the work of Child’s Eye Line UK and I am particularly struck by the difficulties and resistance parents have been experiencing when seeking the cooperation of supermarkets who are often not observing current legislation.”
Norman Baker MP wrote to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in his role as Minister on Child’s Eye Line’s behalf and received a “positive reply.” David Cameron referred Norman Baker MP to the Bailey Review into the sexualisation of children, “Letting Children Be Children” (commissioned in 2012), which made a series of recommendations that shops and supermarkets should ‘ensure that magazines and newspapers with sexualised images on their covers are not in easy sight of children.
Norman Baker MP said that it is “vital that a robust approach to promoting the self-regulation is in place and that the Indecent Displays Act is able to provide for sufficient protection on matters raised by Child’s Eye Line UK.”
Child’s Eye Line UK has recently received cross-party support at the Scottish Parliament and will have amendments to the forthcoming Licensing Bill tabled by the Shadow Minister for Equalities, Jackie Baillie MSP. Jackie Baillie MSP commented:
“I am pleased that retailers have listened to concerns from all shoppers about displaying materials appropriately in their stores in line with the Indecent Displays Act, 1981. The press rightly has the freedom to publish what they wish, thankfully some responsible retailers understand that this freedom should not impact on those shoppers including children who equally have the right to shop in a family friendly environment.”
Notes to Editors:
About Child’s Eye Line UK:
Child’s Eye Line UK is a campaign run by volunteer parents fed up of their children being confronted with sexualized and degrading images in their local shops and supermarkets.
The campaign has cross-party support from MPs and leading teaching unions and children’s charities.
A recent government report by the Children’s Commissioner, “Basically, Porn is Everywhere” 2013, found that exposure to sexualized images is “damaging to children, negatively affecting their sexual development, relationships and self esteem and makes risky sexual behaviour more likely.” The images and content found in publications like The Sun, The Star, The Sport and lads’ mags were also linked with attitudes that underpin violence against women.
For interviews and more details about Child’s Eye Line UK, please contact:
info@childseyeline.org
www.childseyeline.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChildEyes
Twitter: @ChildEyesUK
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