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Debate concerning the role of traditional media in the sexualization of young people tends to view young people as a special group of consumers who require protection from some media content and its potential risks. However, with the advent of new media technologies, young people are no longer passive consumers of sexualized representations, but also generators of sexually explicit material that is created and shared among their peers. This challenge has raised concern among those adults who remain ambivalent, or perhaps in denial, about the possibility that young people are sexually curious. Accordingly, this essay seeks to challenge the view that young people are simply passive recipients of sexual messages in the media by highlighting the role that young people play as producers of media content, in particular through the production of fan fiction. This essay investigates the potential criminalization of young people whose online communications about sex can be classified as criminal acts under Australia’s child abuse material legislation. Interviews were conducted with five members of the judiciary to ascertain how this kind of communication might be viewed in a court of law. This was conducted as part of larger research project that seeks to analyze how Australia’s child abuse material legislation may impact on the sexual self-expression of young people themselves.

Restorative justice conferencing offers promise in dealing with the harm flowing from environmental crimes. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime outlined four critical ingredients necessary for restorative justice to achieve its objectives. One of these critical ingredients is that the offender accepts responsibility for the offence. In another article, we explored this requirement, outlining how contrition and remorse can be evidence of an acceptance of responsibility. In this article, we go further by questioning whether environmental crime offenders who do not accept responsibility for the offending should necessarily be excluded from participating in restorative justice conferencing. As will be seen, the benefits of conferencing with offenders who seem reluctant to accept responsibility may outweigh its disadvantages. This is particularly because the facilitated dialogue can provide a golden opportunity for the offender to come to realise the harm caused by their offending and its impact on victims.

Environmental crimes can affect the air we breathe, water we drink, and the land we live on, making it essential to enforce environmental protection laws. Restorative justice conferencing provides a promising way to repair the harm occasioned, offering many benefits over traditional prosecution in court. However, it does have drawbacks and may not be suitable in all cases, raising the question of when it is appropriate to use when dealing with environmental offending. This article sheds light on the benefits and shortfalls of restorative justice in dealing with such offences, as well as proffering indicia that should be considered when assessing offender suitability to engage in conferencing – namely, offender responsibility, as evidenced through contrition and remorse. Such indicia can provide much-needed guidance to the courts, environmental agencies, and lawyers, which will be beneficial for the community and environment as a whole.

Every country in the world has been affected by the epidemic of intimate partner violence. It is now known that technology facilitates intimate partner violence by enabling perpetrators new ways of abusing, controlling, harassing, and isolating their current or former partner. However, there has been a tendency to neglect consideration of the promise technology holds in combating intimate partner violence. Understanding how technology is being misused to facilitate intimate partner violence is critical to its prevention. However, it is equally essential to acknowledge the opportunities technology creates in protecting and empowering victims. The purpose of this article is to explore these opportunities. Importantly, it steers away from victim-blaming, simplistic, and often unhelpful solutions that expect victims to refrain from using technology. Instead, this article views access to the internet as a human right and focuses on innovative uses of technology that can allow victims to maintain their virtual identity while maintaining their online safety.

Recently, a series of high-profile court cases have led the Director of Public Prosecution in the United Kingdom to publish a policy clarifying the exercise of its discretion in assisted suicide. Importantly, the experience in the United Kingdom serves as a timely reminder that Australia too should formulate its own guideline that detail how prosecutorial discretion will be exercised in cases of assisted suicide. This is especially given the fact that many Australian citizens are travelling to jurisdictions where assistance in dying is legal. Any policy should not, however, distract from addressing law reform on voluntary euthanasia. Australian legislators should be consulting with the public in order to represent the opinion of the majority. Nevertheless, any future policy and law reform implemented should provide adequate safeguards and be guided by the principle of individual autonomy.

The production, circulation and possession of child pornography is a serious criminal activity that involves harm to the most vulnerable in society – children. Australian legislatures have rightfully attempted to prevent this harm by prohibiting child pornography through a range of child abuse material legislation. However, the definition of child pornography under the current legislation is broad enough to capture purely fictional representations of children and, thus, protects even imaginary characters who ‘appear to be’ a child. In doing so, the legislation targets not only the small minority of adults with paedophilic interests, but also persons who may inadvertently stumble on, or intentionally create such material, not knowing that it is illegal. Of concern is that the legislation potentially criminalises the very people it was designed to protect – young people – many of whom create and circulate sexually explicit fantasy material among peer groups on the internet. This article is one of a series of forthcoming research outputs that seeks to investigate the prohibition of purely fictional material under Australia’s child abuse material legislation, highlighting its problems and questioning whether the legislation meets its objectives of protecting real children from harm.