How Bookworld profited from intra-familial child sexual abuse
*Trigger warning – child sexual abuse, incest*
We’ve just campaigned against Condom Kingdom selling products that eroticise sex with underage girls and therefore, paedophilia. But Condom Kingdom isn’t the only retailer providing masturbatory material for sexual predators. Bookworld – formerly known as Borders – has been selling multiple titles eroticising incest.
Recently one of our supporters alerted us to a book they had come across on Bookworld’s website, entitled ‘Tina sits on Daddy’s face’.
Bookworld is the rebranded online version of what used to be Borders bookstores. After searching the website more thoroughly, we found hundreds of titles under the heading ‘incest’, including:
- Double teamed by Daddy and Uncle
- Daddy takes my virginity
- First time with my twin brothers
- F*cking my black Daddy
- Daddy’s naughty girls get what they deserve
- Breaking in the babysitter
Below is our complaint to the Classifications Branch of the Attorney-General’s department about Bookworld’s trading in and profiting from incest titles. Be warned, the content is distressing. The good news is that Bookworld has now withdrawn these titles from sale.
Caitlin Roper, our State Coordinator for Western Australia, wrote to the Classifications Branch of the Attorney-General’s department to inquire as to why novels promoting intra-familial child sexual abuse, a serious crime, were allowed to be sold:
These ‘incest fantasy’ titles typically involve an older male family member, typically a father, engaging in sexual acts with a daughter, characterized as young, innocent virgins. Incest is a serious and criminal act of abuse against children. An estimated one in four children is a victim of Child Sexual Abuse, with a significant number being abused by a family member, often a father or brother.
The publication and sale of incest themed erotic fiction in mainstream bookstores gives credibility to the idea among abusers that sex with children is permissible, or that children want, like and deserve to be abused- even that behind each innocent, young child lies a filthy whore waiting to be broken in.
According to the Classifications Act 1995, the Classification Board only classifies ‘submittable publications’ that are likely to be classified RC, are likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult, or are unsuitable for a minor to see or read. As well as promoting criminal behavior, I believe these books meet all three criteria and like pornographic magazines that depict children or appear to depict children, should be refused classification.
The Classifications Branch responded yesterday, advising that Bookworld would remove the titles (click image to enlarge):
We are relieved to hear that Bookworld has removed these titles. However we do have to wonder how it came to be sold in the first place. Bookworld ‘appreciated being advised’ – they didn’t know they were selling pseudo incest child pornography?
Caitlin was recently interviewed on RTR fm about Condom Kingdom, Bookworld and illegal pseudo child pornography sold in service stations and corner stores. Listen here:
http://www.rtrfm.com.au/restream/20981
As published on Collective Shout
February 6th, 2013 at 5:52 pm
Thank you Melinda for bringing this issue to our attention! With sexual abuse of children so devastating it defies belief that anyone would write such books, let alone sell them . Anything for profit?
I was in rush to do my shopping yesterday, so can’t totally guarantee I was right. But thought I saw a large packed display of many titles of erotica books in Big W.
February 6th, 2013 at 6:52 pm
Hi Melinda, we are certainly grateful that this issue has been brought to our attention. We receive automatic feeds from our suppliers of over 20 million different products. As we have to take their entire feed this can be, at times, difficult to monitor in regards to the content of every single title. As soon as we were notified about this issue from the Classifications board we took steps to delist these titles from our site. Please be assured that we have in no way actively promoted or marketed these books and do not want to sell them on our site.
February 6th, 2013 at 6:54 pm
THANK YOU Caitlin and Melinda SO much! Thank you for the incredibly important work you continue to do.
And note, here I am with a children’s book to help keep kids SAFE from sexual abuse and no publisher would publish it! One very well-known bookshop would not even have me read it in their bookshop as quote: ‘parents would not perceive it very well!”. Yet Bookworld allows such incredibly damaging books to exist! It is beyond belief . Shaking my head!
February 6th, 2013 at 9:24 pm
Thank You for taking this little battle on. It simply beggars belief that such material can be sold through a regular company like, Bookworld. The abuse of children is such a big issue in our society and there is no need for written material that promotes the idea of child sexual abuse (or any other sexual abuse, for that matter) to be freely available as a form of ‘entertainment’ or ‘amusement’. Funny how Bookworld wasn’t even aware of what types of written material they are (or were) selling!!
February 7th, 2013 at 7:14 am
It’s quite disturbing that someone is WRITING these books- someone is PAYING a writer – someone is EDITING these books – someone is SUPPLYING these books – lots of people in the chain KNOW about their existence. It’s bad enough that there should be any demand for this type of literature, but worse that so many people are willing to support and profit from it.