Mental health professionals are increasingly concerned about the prevalence of sexualised images of children and early adolescents in the media. Research has shown that the exploitation of children, particularly girls, as sexual objects has a detrimental effect on adolescent development, increasing the risk of depression, eating disorders and low self-esteem. The unrealistic depiction of children in a sexualised manner is not only harmful to girls and women, but has wider consequences in the community.

Christ Church Grammar School is excited to welcome Melinda Tankard Reist to speak to the community on Wednesday 21 March 2018.

Melinda is an author, speaker, media commentator, blogger and advocate for women and girls and is named in the Who’s Who of Australian Women and the World Who’s Who of Women. She is author/editor of five books including Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls, now in its 9th printing, and Big Porn Inc: Exposing the harms of the global pornography industry.

As a newspaper columnist, Melinda is a regular guest on Channel 7’s Sunrise and Morning Show and has also appeared on the ABC’s Q&A and The Gruen Sessions as well as many other TV and radio programs. She addresses thousands of young people each year in schools around the country.

Melinda is also co-founder of the grassroots campaigning movement Collective Shout: for a world free of sexploitation, exposing corporations, advertisers and marketers who objectify women and sexualise girls to sell products and services.

We hope you can join us at this upcoming talk.