Please have a look at this petition.


http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tell...kers#zooapology

ZOO Weekly has gone too far, this time exploiting the vulnerability of female asylum seekers through a deplorable new competition searching for "Australia’s hottest asylum seeker”.

The competition reads: "if you’ve swapped persecution for s-xiness, we want to shoot you (with a camera — relax!)".

I live amongst and count as close friends a number of female refugees from several war-torn nations in East Africa. Their stories of fleeing their countries include horrible accounts of sexual assault and even rape at the hands of militia and the military.

Many of them lost husbands, children and other family members. They still suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress, including frequent nightmares, flashbacks, depression and other associated health problems.

To trivialise and exploit these incredibly traumatic experiences is utterly appalling. That’s why I’m calling on ACP Magazines to demand ZOO issue an apology and immediately scrap this disgusting competition.

This isn’t the first strike for ZOO. The magazine recently offered to accommodate the next boatload of asylum seekers in its office if prominent MP Sarah Hanson-Young posed for them. When she did not, they pasted her head onto near-naked woman’s body.

ZOO Weekly is trivialising sexual harassment and normalising the exploitation of women, making this behaviour acceptable to the target market of young guys.

It's time to put an end to ZOO thinking they can get away with this. Your pressure on ACP could help them to finally axe this appalling competition.

Signed, and shared on facebook..

Zoo Magazine

*shudder*

I would not have thought even this tacky publication would stoop this low but I guess as long as people buy this garbage they will still print it. Can we wives/mothers/girlfriends use our influence to stop our guys buying this rubbish?

Signed and tweeted.

That's quite revolting. Signed and shared.

Signed and shared. Twits.

Signed and shared, how awful.

Signed.

That is truly disgusting. For shame.

Done. Shame on zoo

Just to let you know that Zoo magazine counts online mentions. Even negative press is considered good press so every time you mention them on twitter and so on you are helping the evil man who came up with the refugee idea meet his KPI and get his bonus.

Wow, I had no idea about that but it does sound logical. "No publicity is bad publicity", eh.

Well, I've never bought a Z magazine before and I don't intend to start now.

Anyone else embarrassed? I hope most foreigners/immigrants etc know that the majority of Australians are ashamed and disgusted by this competition!

I am not sure this is exploitation if the women come forward willingly.

It is a photoshoot, not sex slavery.

Plenty of non-refugee women pose for Zoo - are they exploited too?

Edit: I do not like the magazine, I despise it.

But a woman is a woman is a woman. So do you think non-refugee women appearing in the magazine are somehow immune to the potential for exploitation by the soft porn industry?

Immigrants are Australians too.

(quote removed)

PITA asylum seekers? did you really just write that?




You show such little understanding of what asylum seekers go through. Well done.

Would you go to a rape crisis centre and advertise for such a competition? What about a domestic violence women's shelter? Perhaps a grief support group for parents who've lost children and partners? its obviously appropriate to go and solicit models for a men's dirty magazine there isn't it? That would be totally insensitive, but when it comes to asylum seekers, who have gone through horrors we couldn't even imagine, that's totally fine. The mere suggestion of it, is appalling.

No sh*t.


Agree with Holy_J. And especially since a large proportion of asylum seekers are Muslim, it seems pretty disrespectful to their religion and culture.
(before anyone gets their knickers in a twist (I'm looking at you Oceans) im not saying just because they are Muslim its more offensive - everyone should be respected).

Oh my, Tobias'smum, that's so sympathetic of you! You do, of course, have plenty of evidence to back up your ignorant, ****witted, intolerant and hateful comments about how these PITA people don't want to work, just want to freeload?

Your ignorance quite literally makes me want to vomit.

For the other posters here, I was feeling the exact same way about this magazine thing and then read an article on The Drum that really made me think. I'd love to hear your views on it.

Link here - http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4139122.html

I seriously fear for the future of this nation.

I actually know 6 really well - close friends and i know quite a few in their extended familys however they are genuine refugees and came here even as they put it "the right way".

I was just on the phone to one of them and i was talking about this topic and she said its not expolitation as no one is forcing them to enter the competition and she mentioned 2 girls that we both knowand if it was maybe one of the other magazines they might actually enter they would think it was fun. She said whats the difference if they targeted an yother group that is not usually thought of as Sexy.

I read that and I disagree. Although the point is valid, i don't think you'll get zoo's target demographic suddenly supporting the refugee issue. More likely, you'll get "go back to where you come from....unless you can fill out a string bikini"

holy_j I kind of came away thinking the same, although she did make me think.

no you don't.

There is so much mention of "genuine refugees" and "the right way" to seek asylum.

I wonder if you know how the average person living in fear of death in Afghanistan goes about it the right way. I suppose one would apply at the local Australian embassy, wouldn't they? Oh wait, they don't issue visas, and even if they did, they operate out of a number of undisclosed locations so you couldn't go there even if you wanted to!

I wonder if you know that "boat people" are breaking no laws. They are not illegal. It is totally legal to wash up on the shores of Australia and ask for asylum.

I wonder if you have ever even taken the time to question any of these points ever?

Oh so you are a crazy stalker and have been following me my whole life . How would you know who i know. Just because its PC to be all lovey doesnt mean we have to be and i bet most people who dont care didnt bother to reply to everyone else on this who thinks it the worst thing ever

The thing is, they don't go to a rape crisis centre. It's just a shout out into the mass media or wherever the OP found this info. I doubt actual refugees will even know of this. This is obviously a publicity grab. Which the OP is now only adding weight to.

They say a lot of women in porn/prostitution have been victims of abuse as children? Anecdotal, but I heard something like that.

Personally, I am against the whole industry - porn/smutty mags etc.

A lot of people on EB admit they enjoy porn, judging by recent thread, when porn industry is implicated in human trafficking.

The whole thing is just aimed at one and only objective - to ruffle the feathers of Australian middle class, get a bit of printed word here and there.....clearly, Zoo scouts are not arriving at detention centres?!

I think there are better things to be outraged about. This is a non issue.

Huh?

I used to work in a department that worked with asylum seekers, fresh off the boat. They are normal people trying to get on with their lives.

Of course some people complain about stuff in Australia. Do you not ever complain Tobias'Mum? I sure as hell do. People complain doesn't mean they deserve to live in a country where they are shot at in the streets, stoned, beheaded and have their noses cut off.

Who are you calling middle class?

Just want to reiterate this. Because I did not know this until a few months ago. And I reckon a LOT of people would not know.

The facts.

You know Australia has one of the lowest refugee intakes in the world, right? Per-capita and per-GDP?

You also know that coming by boat is "the right way" as much as flying since the UN Refugee Convention to which Australia is signatory indicates that anyone declaring asylum is to be treated as an asylum seeker until such time as they are proven to not be?

Did you know Australia spends an utterly paltry amount of money on asylum seekers, and the bulk of it is in constructing prisons for them to hold them from the crime of expecting us to honour binding international agreements?

Did you know that we are actually giving refugees mental disorders and PTSD from holding them in prisons like Villawood, and that "well at least you're not being raped and murdered" isn't an acceptable justification for acting like racist barbarians?

Did you know that the stories of the amount of subsidy and aid we give refugees are in fact completely overblown by a media intent on keeping us focused on hating brown people instead of actually dealing with the systemic issues in our society, and ensuring that people continue to bleat the Liberal party line instead of politically educating themselves?

Did you know that Australia is both one of the richest nations in the world and one of the emptiest, and could literally service ten times the current refugee intake without even batting an eyelid?

Did you know that if we want to start talking about "free loaders" I'd swap ten of the lazy white bogans in my suburb for one good, honest refugee keen to make a life from themselves in this, frankly utterly amazing, country?

Just wanted to check if you had all the facts before you start running your mouth about this crap.

Hell, yeah!

Who needs independent evidence to form an opinion. It's easier to memorise racist Facebook status updates and pass them off as fact.

Thinking is hard, the Liberal party tells me everything I need to know!

The comments made before make the Liberal Party sound like the Save All The Refugees Party, lol!

Tobias'mum are you from Seymour?

Ahhhh... I can always rely on EB for my regular dose of ignorant bigot.

Australia’s hottest rape victim”.

The competition reads: "if you’ve swapped being a rape victim for s-xiness, we want to shoot you (with a camera — relax!)".



Australia’s hottest bereaved mother”.

The competition reads: "if you’ve swapped being a grieving parent for s-xiness, we want to shoot you (with a camera — relax!)".


(my apologies for those statements, made only to prove a point)

If you saw that, you would be outraged. This is NO different. It is not okay, its not cool, its not above board its not anything but crass and shameful. Surely we can hold ourselves to better standards that this?

nope.

Why do i have to be from somewhere, watch a particular show, like a particular political party to have my opinions. I haven't blasted everyone on here for theirs. I have my opinion because i do why do you have yours?

A Tiny Hedgehog (I love the name BTW its cute ) where do you get your facts from? I am not saying if they are right or wrong but if we are going to go down this path i think we should start stating refrences everyone can say anything and say its fact just because you do doesnt make it so

Fantastic point holy_j

I was merely wondering because I heard the same hogwash from members of that community a while back when they had refugees living there.

I guess Zoo has answered the question I never had, "How can we make Playboy look like Simone de Beauvoir?"*


*Not implying Simone de Beauvoir ever photoshopped her labia minora out of pictures because it wasn't pretty enough.

YAY!!!!

A request for references!

YAY!!!

Off you go, TinyHedgehog, I'd do it, but I gotta pee.

La di dah where do you get your facts from? I am not saying if they are right or wrong but if we are going to go down this path i think we should start stating references.

*snorts wine up nose*

La Di Dah: pics or it didn't not happen...

*cracks knuckles*

This article has sources for most of the claims. If you want some other sources,

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49da0e466.html

http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/arp/factstats.html

http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/arp/faqs.html

http://www.crikey.com.au/2009/06/30/refuge...old-hard-facts/

http://www.rethinkrefugees.com.au/the-facts

http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/60refugee.htm

Most of these reference the UNHCR report on refugees. For a country of our per-capita wealth (second in the OECD only to Norway, IIRC) and population density (we're empty as a politician's promise, and if you want a source for that look up Wikipedia) we've got an utterly shocking record on refugee intake.

Ok i thought this suggestion would be shut down. So now maybe we can move on from the personal attacks to talking about the subject/ issue.

Like others with oposing opinions to my self i think we can agree that places like Facebook, TT, ACA and some other "written" media tends to blow things out of proportion and are not really worth our time being quoted

Not at all, Tobias'smum - I honestly do love it when people ask for references - gives me hope they might read them and learn something.