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Queensland Police to review child exploitation material in public libraries
In a major update to recent news from Binary exposing sexually graphic books being marketed to youth in Australian libraries, it has now been reported that graphic novels containing pornography and sexual fantasies of children engaged in sexual activities have been flagged for review by Queensland Police.
Gender Queer, which includes illustrations of masturbation, sex toys and oral sex, is written by Maia Kobabe, a nonbinary author from California. The 2019 graphic novel is centred on coming out to friends and family.
The 239-page memoir is the most commonly banned book in the United States, according to the American Library Association.
The graphic novel is available to loan at a number of libraries across the country, including Logan Central Library.
Bernard Gaynor raised the alarm about the books in Australian Libraries. He successfully had the books removed from the shelves of Logan City Libraries, but they remained available behind the counter. The Police will now investigate.
Gaynor contacted police on Saturday, March 4, lodging official complaints about Gender Queer and four other titles at the library, which he claimed breached the criminal code in relation to child exploitation material and exposing children to sexually explicit material.
Logan council said it did not wish to make any comment on the book, or the complaint from Gaynor, other than it is “reviewing the matter”.
Binary spokeswoman Kirralie Smith said that it is important that parents “speak out”, and for “citizens to draw the line in the sand and say enough is enough”.
“Sexualising children in libraries has got to stop,” she said.
“Pornography should never be available for children, especially when it depicts children engaged in sexual activity.”
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