Send support to Big W
Big W staff were on the receiving end of abuse and harassment for stocking the book ‘Welcome to Sex’. This is a wonderful educational resource to assist parents in discussing sex and relationships with their children when they feel it is appropriate.
We asked members to take action and to send their support to Big W for stocking amazing resources such as this, and to support them for selling important books that safeguard young people and promote healthy relationships.
Some serious comments and abuses were made towards staff, and it was awful to see this kind of harassment both in person and online. It is important to counteract negativity towards relationships and sexuality education (RSE) resources with messages of support.
Books like these are are a powerful tool to help answer the questions young people have about their bodies and relationships. Most young people find schools do not provide adequate RSE and the level of comfort to talk about these topics at home can vary widely. Critically, these sorts of books help to counteract the harmful and inaccurate messages that are perpetuated by pornography. Sadly, we know many young people turn to online spaces for information if no one else is providing education for them.
Bloom-ED asked members to:
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take a moment to email their support to Big W. Encourage them to put their book back on the shelves. We wrote an example email template below. Their email is bigwcontactus@bigw.com.au
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alternatively, members could leave a positive phone message by calling Big W on 02 8885 0000
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leave a positive review online (Big W, Target, Amazon and Google were inundated with poor reviews from those who are spreading hate and likely had not read the book)
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consider purchasing the book - it is a fantastic resource for young people and adults alike, or buy for a friend (a link is provided below)
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If you feel compelled, share your support for the book, the louder the noise we make, the more it shows this cannot stand. This sends a strong message!
Email through your support
Dear Big W,
Firstly, I want to thank you for stocking such important resources such as ‘Welcome to Sex’. I can see you have pulled this from your shelves (thank you for continuing to stock this online), and am sorry to learn that your staff have suffered abuse. Community members who have expressed anger, concern or outrage unfortunately appear to misunderstand that this resource protects and informs young people, equipping them with information and skills they need to safeguard their own, and each other's wellbeing. Research is clear that such information and education delays first sexual experiences, acts as a protective factor against sexual abuse and sexual violence, and improves social and emotional learning.
Opposition to sex education usually comes from a small but vocal group - but they are a minority. Recent research shows that almost 90% of Australian parents want better sex education for their kids, but unfortunately that majority is not as loud as those who oppose it. I am emailing you to add my voice to the majority who support this kind of resource for young people and their parents, and to show my support for you to continue stocking important resources such as this.
I also encourage you to re-stock this book in stores so that parents who are struggling to find resources to speak to their children about sex are able to access such materials. I appreciate that the decision to pull it from your shelves was to protect staff from further abuse, but I wonder if there are other steps that might be taken to mitigate this, while continuing to stock it in store? Otherwise, unfortunately, the opponents' tactics have been successful, and the importance of speaking to young people about sex is further stigmatised, misunderstood and censored - which will ultimately harm future generations.
Keep up the fabulous work!
Purchase the book
