SA Minister for Women Katrine Hildyard says royal commission will address ‘urgent’ sexual violence problem
The SA Minister for Women says a royal commission will address an ‘urgent’ sexual violence problem being led by artificial intelligence and misogynist influencers.
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Artificial intelligence and misogynist influencers are winning the “race” to shape young boys’ views on sex and relationships, prompting an urgent call from the state’s leaders.
The concern is so great they have widened the scope of a royal commission into domestic violence, which launches on Monday, to include sexual violence and related online content.
“We’re in this race to make sure those good messages (reach young people) … but we’re getting outdone,” Minister for Women Katrine Hildyard told The Advertiser.
“For every respectful relationships course we run, the Andrew Tates of the world are absolutely undoing it.”
Social media influencer and businessman Tate has attracted criticism for his disparaging views on women and promoting a certain type of masculinity as superior.
In June last year he was charged with rape and human trafficking by a Romanian court.
He denies the allegations.
Studies have found Tate has a strong influence over Australian boys and young men.
One 2022 survey found a quarter looked up to him as a role model and one third found him “relatable”.
Adelaide teachers and principals have spoken of brazen and disturbing behaviour by young male students towards female classmates and school staff.
One mother recently told The Advertiser that boys at her Year 8 daughter’s school repeatedly showed her disturbing pornography on their phones while in class.
When she tried to move to another seat they would resort to bullying and name-calling, said the mother who did not want to be identified.
Ms Hildyard said these kinds of incidents highlighted “what we are up against”.
“Why is it that a young boy would think it’s OK that women are being depicted in this awful way and objectified? And why would they think that it’s OK to show a girl that?” she said.
Ms Hildyard noted that artificial intelligence was also playing a role, enabling people to create compromising so-called “deep fake” images.
A Victorian teenager was arrested earlier this month after a series of explicit AI-generated images involving female students at Bacchus Marsh Grammar School were circulated online.
“That is this frontier that we absolutely have to confront,” Ms Hildyard said.
“We have to do this faster and better, because those who are against us are accelerating their efforts and undoing every piece of good work we do.”
Ms Hildyard said she had “specifically asked” royal commissioner and former Senator Natasha Stott Despoja to examine the issue when she begins her inquiry on July 1.
The Advertiser’s recent Let Them Be Kids campaign lobbied for better protections for young people online.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has committed to raising the minimum age of social media use to 16.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the priority should be trialling age verification technology to enforce any limit on social media companies.
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