Girls who are attending private school dances are being required to wear bike pants, tights, leggings, etc with short skirts or dresses as part of a new dress code. The Courier-Mail’s headline cries “School Dance Dress Shock“. Clicking through gives you an even better headline for the article.

Bike pants dress code for school dances to ward off sex

I can only assume they are very unflattering bike pants then.

The article reports that this decision has been made amid concerns that inappropriate touching by boys will lead to criminal charges, and that this rule has been brought in to “ reduce the risk of being sexually assaulted”.  The report goes on to explain that the girl’s schools had asked for the rules to be changed, as previously this type of apparel wasn’t allowed. Perhaps this was a leftover of the late 80s push to consign leggings to the past forever.

It seems sensible to allow leggings, tights. This has become the fashion over recent times and it fits into the appropriate dress code for a school dance. Mini skirts and bare legs really don’t need to be the realm of 14 and 15 year old girls. This way they can wear the current short skirt/dress fashions but with appropriate covering that a private school requires. Win-win I would have thought.

The claims that this would reduce incidents of sexual assault seems strange. Sexual assault is not accidentally touching a girl inappropriately because there was nothing in the way, like bike pants. Sexual assault is the act of touching a person inappropriately (or other such things) and whether bike pants are in the way or not, it’s still assault. Perhaps the  idea is that the boys are not going to be ‘provoked’ by the bare flesh temptation brought about by the short skirts. I don’t think that would stop randy boys from thinking about sex, but randy boys doesn’t mean sexual assault either.

Adolescent boys and girls have always had the hideously difficult task of growing through from innocence to sexual maturity. It’s not always pleasant and can be very awkward. Having been a randy teenage boy at one stage, I know what it was like for me. I was never interested in sexually assaulting someone though.

If a guy is going to sexually assault a girl, it’s because he is a pig and can’t control himself (or chooses to not control himself). No amount of Lycra will stop them.

Good on the schools for having and updating their dress code, but lets not turn it into a panacea for sexual assault at school dances. Education and modelling of correct and appropriate behaviour from older men is one way that we can get the next generation to treat all women with respect and not do the wrong thing. Report anything that you see immediately. If you are attacked, don’t be afraid to speak up. We need to support the victims of sexual assault to help them get the justice they deserve.

A dress code – good idea, but not the end to sexual assault.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has recently been asked to comment on her views regarding Reproductive Rights and Family Planning, including abortion. Rather than summarise, here is the YouTube video of the question and her  answer.

There will be those who disagree with her view and you are entitled to that right. I am with Secretary Clinton on this one. It must be the individual’s right to choose whether abortion is suitable for them. Providing good family planning advice, including information about contraception and safer sex practices is important no matter where you live. Providing the tools for girls and boys, men and women to make sound and informed decisions is much more important than running scare mongering campaigns.

Teaching kids about sex is just as important as teaching them about other physical health issues and perhaps even more so in some cases. They are not resistant to hormones and need to have the information available to think for themselves. Providing them with age appropriate education in a safe environment is important. If parents want to opt their children out then we shouldn’t stop them. But we shouldn’t allow a group to force their views on abortion, sex education or family planning on anyone else.

If your deity, your moral values or your ideological view of society says that it is wrong to have an abortion, then you do what you need to do. Let other women decide for themselves and do whatever they decide they need to do.

So now that I have your attention…

Cardinal George Pell has come out and made it a really Good Friday for Pope Benedict XVI (they need more papal names it seems) and supported his recent comments made to the media. Seems nothing so sinister and isn’t all that surprising, considering his position within the Catholic Church. Until you read into it more. Then you realise that it is disturbing and quite dangerous.

The Cardinal, who sadly I have to admit is an Australian, has come out in support of the Pope’s comments that the use of condoms was actually making the AIDS issue worse in Africa, and not better. Instantly I know that the scientists and politicians of the last 10 to 20 years are wrong and the Catholic Church are unbiased and trusted source of science on this issue. Please.

We should not be quick to judge. We should check whether this is what the Pope really said. Perhaps it is some misquote from a rouge journalist who picked up something he is supposed to have said from an unreliable source. No, it’s a Reuters journalist and it was uttered at a media conference.

Here is the part of the article, from http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/mar/19pope-views-on-condom-use-create-a-stir.htm:

“AIDS cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems,” he told media persons on March 17 while on his way to Cameroon.

They also reported that the Pope has a better solution for this AIDS epidemic:

According to the Pope, combating the spread of AIDS requires a ’spiritual and human awakening’, friendship for those who suffer, and a ‘responsible, moral attitude toward sex’.

Awesome. A very viable suggestion. We will stop people who are having sex knowing that they might get AIDS by giving them a spiritual awakening. They don’t need to know about AIDS and be told of all the possible ways to help stop its transmission. Just get them to pray that they won’t want to have sex anytime soon.

What needs to be done is that out of touch organisations, who are more concerned about their own pontificating than the wellbeing of its followers, should get a grip and come around to the 21st Century. It isn’t going to go away any time soon. There will be no apocalyptic horsemen, although global warming might make them think they are in Hell anyway.

Start providing the right sort of education to all people around the world about the dangers of AIDS. Be sensitive to their backgrounds and current education levels so that they can understand what they are being old. Provide good quality condoms only and provide them for free so that everyone has some. We shouldn’t be making money out of fighting an epidemic.

Edit: You can here his media stop in this AFP video on YouTube. It seems AFP won’t let you embed their videos, even if you are a paid affiliate. And I’m not even close to that.)

So welcome to day 3 of Election ‘09. Or is that two days? That’s neither here or there. What is important is a look back at the last few days of the election. At the end of the day, it is important to remember that we people are smarter than to believe the drivel from the election adverts.

We see Anna Bligh talking about stability during long projects. What the? Just because Anna isn’t there holding the reins doesn’t mean the Gateway Duplication (or any other number of projects) are going to fall over. Sure, they might change a few projects (like getting rid of the stupid Traveston Crossing Dam).

Then you get to listen to Lawrence Springborg sitting in an office telling us that Health, Education and Flying Pigs are important to his re-election bid. Perhaps he will hop on the back of said Flying Pig (not to be confused with Spider Pig (and the Borg remix) and visit the entire state in 26 days.

You know, at the end of the day it feels like only this much has happened. No running out of the blocks. I haven’t heard wall to wall Anna and Borg. Where are the perennial Green candidates on street corners? Where are the Independents kissing babies?

Why doesn’t Father Peter Kennedy run for South Brisbane? Surely he would oust Anna Bligh? I think at this stage, who cares?

Not me. Not yet.

Senator Stephen Conroy has posted a new blog post called “Minister Conroy on: Promoting a civil and confident society online“. Sounds like crap, Senator.

Sen. Conroy’s blog post is nothing more than Government spin doctors working the media. What concerns me most is this section:

We are happy to have an open debate about these technical issues. However, the Government does not view this debate as an argument about freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech is fundamentally important in a democratic society and there was never any suggestion that the Australian Government would seek to block political content. In this context, claims that the Government’s policy is analogous to the approach taken by countries such as Iran, China and Saudi Arabia are not justified.

Australian society has always accepted that there is some material which is not acceptable, particularly for children. …  All the Government is now seeking to do is to examine how technology can assist in filtering internationally-hosted content.

Why am I concerned? People are buying it.

At work, the verdict is that I’m into Child Pornography. Why? Well why else would I want there to be no filter? I’m wanting to access illegal sites.  The rest just don’t give a toss about whether there is a filter or not. It won’t affect them and that’s all they care about.

So what can we do to win over the average Joe?

1. Take action in a professional manner.
2. Take action in small teams.
3. Take action to get the facts right.
4. Take action now.

Take action in a professional manner

It is important that we look at who we are trying to win over. We aren’t after the radicals or the net-savvy geeks – that is preaching to the converted. We need to speak to the educated middle class. Remember that the education standards are higher than ever, so people want a polished look.

Having the right equipment (PA systems, data projector, an appropriate room) conveys messages of authority and professionalism. Having a smartly-dressed presenters(s) making good, clear arguments adds to the message. Banner waving isn’t going to convince them.

Take action in small teams

We need to make small efforts to make big wins. One small group of people at a time, properly informed on the issues and implications is better than hundreds and hundreds of people who know nothing about the argument. Each person we get enthused and involved helps to keep the message moving.

Having well informed supporters provides more chance that the message will stick and be consistant. Hand out flyers, hold presentations in librarys or perhaps go to the meeting of a local social group (perhaps a playgroup or local sports club) and give them the facts to take home and think about themselves. Small progress will bring big results.

Take action to get the facts right.

There is no point in taking all this action if the information is wrong. We need a strong and solid message to take to the people so that each time they hear it, it consolidates their support. We need to have the facts right from the first go. No pseudo-science — only the truth. If we don’t know it, take the question down, go find the answer and come back next time (or email/call to give the answer) .

Getting it right now means staying on message and understanding all the facts and information. That way Government misinformation can be combatted swiftly. Further research may bring new points which support our position.

Take action now

There is no better time to act than now. Momentum is being won day by day thanks to the Government getting their message through to the ordinary Australian. If we want to continue to have the freedom to use an unfiltered Internet service, you need to start working now. This isn’t a case where you sit back and think, “They’ll never do it!” They are doing it!

Form local groups. Start a wiki with tips on how to support the cause and the facts of the case.  Start video blogs. Why not make a presentation at the local library or hold an information session? Write a presentation, have it filmed and DVD’d to people who request it through a website!

It might seem all a bit much, but this fight is a whole lot more than a bit much. We need to take action now before we lose our rights. The solution does not solve the problem.