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PinkUnderwear 380x319 Daily Buzz: When teenagers become sex offendersTEEN SEX OFFENDERS: IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK

It only takes one ‘wayward’ sext. A lewd pic sent to a friend, or uploaded on to the Internet. It happened to one 17-year-old when he sent a picture of him and his former girlfriend, also 17, to some mates after they broke up. It was ‘dumb’, he said, and he asked them to delete it straight away.

They did. But the girl’s family found out nonetheless and told the police who questioned the man. Even though the pictures were deleted, he confessed to the incident and was charged with making child pornography. One moment of terrible judgment and he was placed on the sex offender register. For eight years. That’s a mandatory provision but there is a growing chorus asking for judges to be given discretion in who to place on the registry.

The man, now 24, was in court last week where he was fined $400 for registering a vehicle in his name and not telling police – a condition of the sex offender registry. He said:

“It’s affecting all my relationships with young people. I’m nervous about who I should even be speaking to. It’s a very heavy thing to carry.”

The problem, of course, is that there are potentially thousands of teenagers courting the same registry by the simply sexting each other. What do you think of the laws?

Here’s what else has been on our radar:

1. Torika Watters, the Fijian Miss Universe winner who was caught in a race row when critics mentioned her ‘skin was too white’ has been stripped of her crown. She was too young, organisers say.

2. When things get tough, they also get stranger. Labor MP Craig Thomson, accused of hiring escorts on a union credit card, has now said the entire thing was a set-up to get revenge on him by a jealous rival. People on both sides said the story seemed ‘fabricated’.

3. Politics of the ‘man hug’. Is this really a new thing, that men are OK hugging each other as long as it’s above waist touching and no more than three pats on the back? Hmmm.

4. Professional women being told what to wear. No dangling earrings, no opaque stockings and no lip gloss are just some of the conditions at workplaces like Westpac and Clayton Utz. Should there be a dress code that strict?

5. Hipsters and emos (‘emotional’ kids) have been warned by an actual optometrist that long fringes covering just one eye could lead to them having a lazy eye. File that under news stories we never expected to read.

6. The sanga has been around for 250 years, it’s said. The British town of Sandwich is celebrating the anniversary this year with a re-enactment. Though historians doubt the claim (seriously, did it take human civilisation until the 18th Century to invent ‘stuff between bread’?) it’s a cute story. So, what’s on your favourite sandwich?

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78 Comments so far

  1. Gin & Tonic

    That is a lesson I will be sharing with my son and daughter when they are old enough to understand. This is one of my biggest fears for their silly experimental risk taking years, that their mistakes will be photo documented by others and published on the internet or shared inappropriately. The consequences for my silly years have faded with time and people’s hazy memories. They wont be so lucky.

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  2. justvisiting

    I think its crazy that teenagers can legally have sex at 16 but can’t film it or even send suggestive texts until 18!

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  3. Bree Carl

    “It’s affecting all my relationships with young people. I’m nervous about who I should even be speaking to. It’s a very heavy thing to carry.”

    http://fingermonkey.org/finger-monkey-for-sale/

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  4. Guest

    The punishment of being on a sex register for 15 years as a teen sexter is massively out of proportion to the offence, proportion in sentencing being a guiding principle that has been overidden by mandatory laws.

    This is the problem with mandatory sentencing of any kind, there is no room for discretion and you end up with grave injustices. If there were discretion judges could still put that 17 year old who acted with terrible malice and damage done on a register for a few years, and sort apart those who were engaged in what is often harmless MUTUAL behaviour that ended up in court only because of pissed off parents.

    The case mentioned above inspires strong feelings on some as we imagine as women being betrayed like that, but more broadly teens are ending up on a sex register for ten years simply for being stupid enough to send a picture of their private parts to someone under the age of eighteen. I don’t know any seventeen year old so precious and innocent they cannot cope with a picture of some boy’s penis being sent to them and they are so victimised they need to see the offender cut off from work prospects, volunteering and being around children, even possibly their own, for ten years or more. Discretion is sorely needed.

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  5. Anonymous

    There are a number of naked photo’s of me floating around. For a time they were on websites along with my name. This has never caused me any problems, even though I know 2 of my former employers found the photo’s while researching me, and I’m sure a lot of clients would have found them by googling me as well.

    People tend to act like these sorts of things are the end of the world, but it really isn’t. I’d prefer they weren’t out there, but I don’t lose sleep over it, and I’m not embarassed by it. As I said, it has never caused me any issues.

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    • MJ

      What kind of work do you do?

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  6. Simone

    The trial by media re Craig Thompson is starting to really s*%t me. I don’t care who has what opinion or conspiracy theory.
    Let the law and the courts (and factual evidence) be the judge, not rumours, personal opinions etc.

    Very over this occurring as a result of the 24 hour news cycle!

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  7. Catriona

    Re the appropriate attire story, surely they could have saved themselves a lot of bother if they had issued guidelines for both men and women. Also does the ‘no lipgloss’ rule mean that lipgloss is not a suitable substitute for lipstick or that women are free to wear neither? I have very dry lips and can’t wear lipstick at all. I also don’t like wearing foundation or skirts, pantihose and heels. If there was a no opaque tights rule, I would be in trousers every day.

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    • Lexy

      It’s stupid. I have chronic recurring varicose veins (lucky me) and have to wear medically prescribed support stockings every day. To the untrained eye, they just look like opaques.

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      • Catriona

        They probably have varicose veins on their banned list anyway! Remind me to never seek legal advice from one of those firms. Might get someone really fashionable who doesn’t know what they are talking about.

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  8. Jen

    Might be my inner nanna talking, but I am uncomfortable with the photo used with this article, it is implied that the girl shown is a teenager. Mamamia, would you consider changing it to show someone dressed? Thanks.

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  9. Bradley

    1. Of course Miss Fiji was stripped of her title because she was “too young”. Like nobody picked this up before she even stepped on stage to collect the crown.

    2. Craig Thomsons story is totally believable. Sarcasm hits 100 on the Richter Scale.

    3. If you hug me, I’ll hug back. Who doesn’t like a hug ?

    4. If there is a workplace dress code, abide with it or seek employment elsewhere. In this instance there doesn’t seem to be any severe requests being made by the employer.

    5. I recall an actress from the 1950′s, Veronica Lake, whose trademark look was the fringe over eye. She suffered from the lazy eye syndrome as a result. So this is something that has been known about for some time.

    6. Pastrami and Kewpie mayo on sourdough !

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    • Deni

      No opaque stockings? I thought they are the thickest stockings you can buy. What, would they prefer bare legs with a skirt on a colder day? That sounds pretty silly to me.

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      • S

        Yeah I don’t get it. What’s wrong with opaque stockings? More conservative than translucent stockings. And what’s wrong with lip gloss? What if you get dry lips?

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        • Anonymous

          Or do you call them transparent stockings? Or see-through?

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    • jr

      the tricky thing is you may have signed a contract prior to seeing said dress code, which is often sent out as part of an induction pack post-signing.

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  10. Denise Duffield-Thomas

    My husband is all over the man hug – good to see it’s getting into Aussie culture. (btw – he’s British and his aussie workmates used to tease him for wearing pink shirts – now they are too)

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  11. Denise Duffield-Thomas

    I love working for myself – I wear whatever I want.

    Wearing a suit reminds me of my corporate days – ew. I was not meant to work in a cubicle.

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    • Cate

      oh totally! I’m self-employed also and quite often wear slippers whilst working at home ;)

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  12. passing through

    It happened to one 17-year-old when he sent a picture of him and his former girlfriend, also 17, to some mates after they broke up. It was ‘dumb’, he said, and he asked them to delete it straight away.

    I think what he did was terrible and just shows his attitudes to females. I’m glad that he’s been punished in a way that really punishes him. If he had been lightly slapped over the wrist what might he done when he was older to any woman who dared end a relationship with him.

    The man, now 24, was in court last week where he was fined $400 for registering a vehicle in his name and not telling police – a condition of the sex offender registry.

    He’s even thumbing his nose at the conditions set by the court. That also tells you a lot about him.

    Sorry, no matter how I try I can’t dredge up any sympathy for him and his woes.

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    • jess88

      See, I don’t really agree with you. I don’t think that him sending on a picture of himself with his girlfriend after they broke up means he deserves to be placed on a list usually reserved for rapists and child molesters. I also don’t think that his poor judgement at 17 years old is a reflection of who he is as a 24 year old. He absolutely did the wrong thing by the girl but does that mean that if prospective employers do a background check on him they should be able to see that he was charged with child pornography possession? Without knowing the full story?

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      • passing through

        I don’t think that him sending on a picture of himself with his girlfriend after they broke up means he deserves to be placed on a list usually reserved for rapists and child molesters.

        It wasn’t “just” a picture, it was a lewd sexual picture. He sent a porno image of his ex-girlfriend without her permission. That showed no respect for the girl at all.

        Maybe you’d feel differently if it was your daughter.

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        • jess88

          So, you wouldn’t feel differently if it was your son in this situation?

          I wouldnt feel any differently if it was to happen to any daughter I may have or if it was to happen to me personally. Alot of us have taken “sexy photos” when we’ve been in relationships, and some of us have been unfortunate enough to realise people outside the relationship have seen them, I wouldn’t say that any of my ex’s are sex offenders if they had passed on sexually expicit photos of me though – pigs, definitely, but not sex offenders.The punishment was way too harsh for the crime.

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    • Cait

      I have to respectfully disagree with your assessment.

      Im not defending what he did. If I was that girl I would have felt violated and horrified beyond belief.

      BUT its hard to say that a 17 year old has fully formed ‘attitude(s)’ toward females. I can tell you now most of my girlfriends at 17 would admit to being unfavourable towards a boyfriend. I know I wasnt exactly innocent at 17.

      Also, the full story suggests that the registration of the vehicle was only for less than 1 month because he bought a motorbike for his new girlfriend and the registration was intended to be changed to her name as soon as the gift was given (which it was). The full story also suggests that the circumstances were that his regret for the email was almost immediate and his friends did not view or forward the offending email. He asked them to delete it, which they did. The judge took that into consideration and offered him a plea. He was put on the register for 7 years, and then upon requesting a review, he was told that it should have been longer, and then it was increased.

      I hardly see any thumbing of noses. This guy will pay dearly for this crime, I dont think any further public shaming for a crime committed in youth is necessary.

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      • Loop

        Right Cait. He was a teenager at the time – a group which has been scientifically studied and found to have very little capacity for prediction of consequences of their actions, and even when they can predict what will happen, they rarely act with a balanced view of those risks.

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        • Catriona

          I’m with Cait on this one – and this is despite the fact that I have a teenage daughter, myself, and would be horrified if something like this happened to her.

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        • catgirl

          He was a teenager at the time – a group which has been scientifically studied and found to have very little capacity for prediction of consequences of their actions, and even when they can predict what will happen, they rarely act with a balanced view of those risks.

          Going by that argument that teenagers have no capacity for prediction of consequences one would say that you don’t believe teenagers are responsible for their own actions and shouldn’t be punished? Or do you pick and choose?

          17 year olds who steal cars and run down kids on sidewalks…not responsible and shouldn’t be punished?

          !7 year olds who rape children…not responsible and shouldn’t be punished?

          17 year olds who break into houses and beat up old age pensioners…not responsible and shouldn’t be punished?

          Or is it only 17 year olds who decided to punish their ex-girlfriends for breaking up with them by sending porno photos of her to their friends who are not responsible for their own actions and shouldn’t be punished.

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      • Jayne

        I agree that comment was pretty harsh. But I think passing through did raise a valid issue, which is that we shouldn’t forget the real victim in this case, which was the woman who had her privacy violated in such a horrible way, and not the person who was found guilty of breaking the laws in force at that time.

        Perhaps the law should be changed to distinguish between regular sex offenders and these kinds of offences, but only in very clear circumstances. It would be wrong to treat teenagers more leniently for all sex offences smiply because they are younger. How do we decide what sex offences we will be lenient about and what we won’t? Hard questions.

        While this boy is paying (possibly too) dearly for what he did, hopefully it might act as a deterrant to others who might think about doing the same thing.

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    • Faybian

      Bit harsh. Remember that the human brain is not fully developed, particularly the frontal lobe (which is responsible for impulse control, abstract thought and reasoning etc) until approx 25. There isnoway I would want a picture of my daughter circulating the Internet, but I still don’t think it belongs in the same category as sex offenses such as pedophilia

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  13. Jayne

    I work in a very corporate environment (definitely no ‘business casual’) and have really noticed a lot of inappropriate attire. Mostly from women. This is because men really don’t have a choice of what to wear. It has to be suit, tie, long-sleeved shirt. There is no variation allowed. For women, there is a lot more choice, and a lot more opportunity to get it wrong.

    E.g. putting a blazer over your leggings does not make them work appropriate. Wearing a miniskirt to the office is not appropriate just because it is black and made of bengaline. Cleavage is distracting, and does not belong at work. Again and again you see people wearing these kinds of inappropriate items of clothing at work and it doesn’t look professional.

    However, I don’t think you need to wear high heels or makeup to look professional. It is all about looking well groomed, clean, neat and tidy and with a level of modesty and decorum. And what the hell is wrong with opaque tights???

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    • Craig

      With men inappropriate dressing normally constitutes dressing too casual. Don’t wear jeans and a t-shirt to meet clients. Nothing wrong with jeans & t-shirt per se, but dress for the occasion.

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    • Caris

      If people are wearing leggings to work you need to direct them to Mia’s artcle about leggings not being pants!

      Women are more dressy than men in the office I work in, mostly because the women tend to be in management/client facing roles where as the majority of our staff are male (75%) and work ‘behind the scenes’ so are free to wear their ‘nerd’ tees and jeans (they’re mostly developers/designers)

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  14. Susan As Well

    Just to add another flavour to the breastfeeding issue:

    http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/05/09/3469075.htm?WT.svl=bestOfScroller

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    • Katherine

      Thanks for that, that was an interesting read. So many things I didn’t know about breast milk!

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  15. kathrynoncoast

    I would like to see dress standards enforced in my workplace, Early Childhood. Some of the things I see just make me groan inside, how can parents be expected to see us as professionals when some staff look so shabby. On the brink of speaking to a younger staff member where I work, she will probably be offended. On the subject of man hugs, my partner (53) went to give my Dad (84) a man hug, the look on Dad’s face was priceless – sheer horror hahahaha! :o )

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  16. Lu

    I think dress code is important for the image of the company and for staff self esteem. I know when I dag around the house without making an effort I feel flat. When I get dressed and put a bit of makeup on, even just to do the groceries I feel more positive and actually end up having a really productive day. When I was working the well groomed people were usually the most productive too. The people who arrived at work looking scruffy (wet hair, no makeup, casual clothes, unironed clothes, dirty clothes, hippie jewellry) usually had offices and desks that were constantly in a shambles too.
    When we fly i love looking at the flight attendants because they always look so well groomed. And that projects well on the image of the brand. Shabby looking staff will make the brand less appealing.

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    • goose

      Messy desk/office = more productive. Seriously, they’ve done studies on it!

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  17. Megan

    What’s wrong with opaque tights?

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    • Catriona

      Yeah, are we meant to be cold as well as poor (from all the wardrobe updating etc) and crippled (from the high heels)?

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  18. jess88

    I don’t understand how he could be charged with child pornography when he and his girlfriend were both 17 at the time? That confuses me……
    I think being put on the sex offender list is way too harsh. I’d be furious if I was in the girls position but I wouldn’t say that my ex was a sex offender – a pig, maybe – but in no way would I think he was equal to child molesters and rapists – isn’t that who the register is for?

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    • Sasha

      I’m not 100% on this but although the legal age for sex is 16, I think anyone under 18 is considered underage in terms of “pornography”. I remember some scandal with some celebrity (vague, but they’re really all the same) who was naked but it wasn’t child pornography because she was over 18, or something.

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    • Isa

      I’m a law student and I read that it may be possible to be charged with making child pornography even if you take a nude picture of YOURSELF when you’re under 18. To my knowledge Sasha is right. It has nothing to do with consent. Even if someone under 18 sends you a picture of them, you can still be charged with having child pornography. Even if you’re under 18 as well. So yeah he’s a dick for sending the picture on but to be placed on the sex offender registry is way, way harsh.

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      • jess88

        So, if someone was to do a background check (like a prospective employer) on this guy, what are they able to see? Would they see all the details regarding the case or just that this person was charged with possession of child pornography?

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        • Isa

          Again, I’m not 100% on this but I THINK that when you do a criminal background check all you get is the conviction. Unless the judge chose to give you an unrecorded conviction. Which obviously isn’t what happens in these cases as you are placed on a register saying that you’re a sex offender…also it would prevent you from obtaining a Working with Children Card (not sure if this is an Aus. thing or just what we use in Vic) which you need for a lot of things. I have to have one to do a lot of the volunteer work that I do. It’s a really serious issue I think. When you read what happened it’s easy to think that he deserves to be punished for sending the image on, which is true, but under law what he is been punished for is the fact that he had it in the first place, even when it was made with consent, by a person who is old enough to give consent for the purposes of sex.
          Punishment for what he did to the girl is just but being placed on a register declaring him to be a sex offender is not.

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          • jess88

            So basically, having possession of a photo of him having some fun with his girlfriend as a teenager has pretty much ruined his life? that’s terrible, this law needs to be reviewed or something.

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            • rainbow

              no, sending it to his friends was what did that

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  19. Kate Hunter

    Call me nanna but someone has to be charged at some point. Kids are very aware of how easy it is to get out of trouble, have things overlooked, delayed, suspended, forgiven. It’s awful for this boy – who’s not a child molester in the criminal sense but he knew sharing the pics was wrong. The big shock came when he was punished. That doesn’t happen much, it seems.

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    • Wendy

      Wouldn’t you say that the original $1,000 fine and good behaviour bond would have had sufficient impact on its own though?

      In general, I agree with you though.

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      • Kate Hunter

        Not sure Wendy, I’m a bit torn on this one (not that it’s up to me!). I think a $1,000 fine is easily forgotten – many parents would pay it for their kid to make it all go away, and good behaviour bonds are a requirement to do nothing. I think a punishment that impacts future opportunities would frighten parents and kids.

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        • Trog

          Hmmm. No-one was identifiable in the images. The guy was 17.

          What sort of punishment would you assign for this sort of thing?

          http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/07/karen-owen-duke-sex-rati_n_754186.html

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          • Lulu

            “No-one was identifiable in the images”

            Rly? His saying “this is a picture of my ex-girlfriend” isn’t enough identification for you?

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            • Trog

              I meant that if the images went viral (out in to the world), she would not be identifiable by the world at large and future repercussions would be limited.

              I think that this should limit the extent of the guy’s punishment.

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  20. anon

    I think its fine to have a strict dress code – but if you are expecting only leather and natural fabrics as well as particular makeup, there should be a wardrobe allowance.

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  21. Guest

    A real eyeopener re the teenager being put on the sex offenders register. Probably time for an addition to all school curriculums to make sure kids know about these consequences. I’m guessing it is not widely known.

    Sadly, the technology that permits (and encourages to a degree) this type of thing is something so inherent in the lives of teenagers that I’d imagine they wouldn’t even stop to think about this incredibly serious consequence.
    Surely information/education is the key.

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    • Miss-Anita

      Or maybe parents could talk to their teenagers about it rather than placing all problems on to schools to fix. As a high school teacher, I know that my 17 year old students know that it’s illegal to share naked pictures of each other, but teens (and adults) do things all the time without thinking about the repercussions.

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      • Wendy

        We’ve certainly had that discussion with our kids.

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      • Guest

        Oh yes, definitely parents should be teaching their kids first and foremost, I agree. I guess parents would also need to know themselves what all the possible consequences, apart from the obvious- that the pics turn up on the internet or shared amongst friends. << A deterrant enough one would have thought..but apparently not!

        I do think though that whilst teens may know that it's illegal, they may not (all) know or fully comprehend that they could end up a registered sex offender and how that will affect their lives.

        Teenagers aren't supposed to drink or have sex either but they do, often with little consequence, and I wonder if the sexting thing is taken as just something they are "all" doing..a bit naughty, a bit rebellious, just "fun" teen stuff etc etc .

        I'm most concerned that they don't KNOW the repercussions. I'd be happy to see a community service type ad campaign about it really.

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  22. Rach

    I personally don’t have a problem with professionals being told – to a point – what to wear (which colour stockings is probably going a bit too far!). Especially if you are involved in customer service or dealing with clients in any regard – you are then the face of the company. Private enterprise shouldn’t need to justify why they wish to project an image of professionalism.

    Teachers have dress codes also, but there are a few schools where I wish it was enforced more. They are working professionals – save the jeans, shorts, strappy tops and thongs for the weekends. Don’t let inappropriate dress speak before your work has chance to. You can still dress individually and appropriately, and also, safely.

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    • Kris2040

      We’ve been told probably about 4 times now Rach – no jeans. The guys I’m on prac with have both rocked up in jeans. Or jeans shorts – those 3/4 ones. Myself and the other girl do as we’re told. They’re all early 20s.
      I wore work pants the first day, then followed the lead of the other teachers and wear nice black 3/4 cargos with decent shoes and the least booby tops I own. I don’t understand why it’s so difficult to look at what is the go around you (there are two male teachers on staff) and follow that!

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    • Anon this time.

      The middle aged female deputy principal of the private primary school my kids go to (not for much longer) regularly wears very short, too- tight dresses and skirts, and stripper heels and wedges. It looks like she’s dressed for the Sunday session most of the time, and is totally inappropriate. The school employs a lot of young graduate female teachers, and I would estimate at least a third of them dress waaay inappropriately. The lax attitude extends unfortunately to other areas in the school, which is why I’ve been turned off.

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  23. jb expat

    I realize this is not the most important story on the list, but really interested in hearing from Gen Y about the office dress thing, as I recently had to talk to the{VERY – to me] young woman who works for me about her office sense of dress. She’s the youngest person I’ve ever had working for me and the first time I’ve ever had to have such a conversation. It’s not that what she wore didn’t “look good” on her – but it looked good for going to bars/happy hour/getting through stinking hot summer days (it’s been cold)! It was an awkward conversation and she claimed to not see how what she was wearing was not suitable for a conservative financial services company. It’s like we see the corp world completely differently – Oh and I’m not a suit wearer and nor was I asking her to wear suits…it was more of trying to convey that the key is “looking professional” which does not overlap 100% with “looking good”.

    This isn’t new either – in the early 90′s when I started as a lawyer in a US law firm one of my peers (another newbie) was taken aside by the law firm’s HR dept and asked not to wear her ankle bracelet (which was a little gold chain). She was deeply offended, however I kind of got it – it just didn’t seem appropriate for the office. This was when suits (pants or skirts) was the only option for NYC law firms.

    PS – just read the linked article – those dress requirements are very, very strict – that’s not what I’m talking about above…I have no time for make-up myself, only wear flats 99.9% of the time…and have given away ALL of my suits.

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    • Rach

      I am (by year anyway – 1982) Gen Y – see my response above you.

      As a teacher, I see what I consider to be inappropriate dress too frequently in schools – it’s no wonder our students then think it’s okay to become a working professional wearing jeans and low cut tops!

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    • Kris2040

      It had to be written into the uniform rules (and brought up every couple of months, and enforced) in the navy that anything other than white/flesh coloured bra and knickers (which we actually got issued) under white shirts and pants probably wasn’t the best look. I would never think to wear a bright red polka dot bra under a white top, but apparently that gene is lacking in many!

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  24. Mooner

    What on earth is wrong with opaque stockings in the workplace???

    You’re ANTI-modesty Westpac?

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  25. Wendy

    Craig Thomson’s story seemed just bizarre enough to have some truth in it – until the press mentioned the phone records matched the bookings.

    What is more scary, is the way the HSU Union officials all seemed to treat the union funds as their own personal funds. The culture in the union was obviously so awry, they still don’t seem to understand why it’s a problem.

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    • Anon

      Now they’re paying Williamson’s legal fees as well. It’s a disgrace. Every employee should be reimbursed, Thompson should resign and a Royal Commission held into each and every union. Nothing short of that will convince me that this corruption is a one off.

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      • Anonymous

        Wow, I missed that they were paying Williamson’s fees too.

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  26. Just Me

    Working in a high school, sexting is a real issue. Just last week I had a Year 8 girl suspended for sending a picture of a male’s appendage…..I then spoke to a group of year 7 & 8 girls who were completely unaware of the serious repercussions of such actions, I actually used the above story of the 17 year old as an example. It’s quite a sad sign of our times…..

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    • Wendy

      It is scary. Some of the things the kids circulate are really quite eye opening.

      At least when we were teenagers in the 80s anything stupid we did wasn’t likely to come back and haunt us because it didn’t get recorded. These days the kids record with cameras everything and THEN they go and publish it on the likes of Facebook.

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  27. Beebee

    Sometimes you have to deal with consequences for your actions. While I think this penalty is a tad harsh, I also question why a 17 year old was ‘sexting’ in the first place and why this girl was sending dirty pictures. In life, there are consequences for your actions.

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    • Moogley

      With all due respect Beebee, do you really question why a 17 year old was ‘sexting’? It was 5 years ago I was 17 and in year 12 and the whole ‘sexting’ phenomenon was rife. I can only imagine it has gotten worse! ;) 17 year olds are full of hormones, and are often starting to discover their sexuality. Coupled with all the new forms of media available, it seems entirely unsurprising kids are ‘sexting’. I agree that there needs to be consequences for doing the wrong thing, but being placed on the sex offender registry at 17 has probably done more harm than good for this young man.
      Maybe we need to build some punishments that fit the crime, as I don’t think ‘sexting’ is going to disappear anytime soon. A mandatory course about safe sex, sexuality and mutual respect seems like it would be more apt than this punishment. Something similar to what driving offenders and first time drug offenders undertake?

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      • Beebee

        Sexting, I can understanding. Sexting an underager and then sharing with friends? Nope, sorry, I don’t understand why someone would do that. No class or respect and he should pay. The girl would have been just as bad, though!

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    • Wendy

      The question is though – does the punishment fit the crime? If the intent of the sex offender register is keep track of people who are a danger to others, then having teenagers guilty of “sexting” on the register doesn’t necessarily fit the intent.

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    • David

      I agree Beebee, what ever happened to respect for others and yourself. sending lewed photos of yourself to another and then having that person pass them on is stupd and really show a basic lack of respect. get caught pay the price i say

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    • Wendy

      His now on the register for 15 years as well, which seems somewhat excessive for a moment’s complete stupidity. If the magistrates had discretion, they could still punish the stupid (as he was) without it having a longer term impact.

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      • Miss Maya

        I don’t believe that the 17 year old or other teenagers caught ‘sexting’ are being harshly punished to be on the register. The images that they have shared, without the consent of the person in them will be around forever. All it takes is one person that he sent it to not to delete it, share it with others or upload it onto the internet. The victim in these cases is the person whose image is being seen and used without their consent, not the person who did a stupid thing in sending the photo to their mates after a break up or for a laugh.

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        • Wendy

          If those circumstances applied, further distribution, uploaded to the internet then yes, being on the register I would think would have been appropriate.

          You are absolutely right. It’s not a victimless crime.

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