Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986

Walk past any hoarding on the Western Express Highway and ask who is being used to sell the product, and how. Advertising, magazines, posters and films all show women, and most of it is perfectly harmless. But some of it treats a woman's body as a prop or presents her in a way that demeans every woman. The Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986 is Parliament's answer. Its hard question is where the line between art, information and indecency falls, and who decides.

In two minutes

The 1986 Act prohibits advertisements and publications that contain the indecent representation of women, defined as depicting a woman's figure, form or body in a way that is indecent, derogatory or denigrating to women, or likely to deprave or corrupt public morality.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Law Relating to Women and Children on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.