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LIFE IN SPAIN

Spain moves to end gender stereotypes in toy adverts

Spanish toy makers agreed Wednesday to end gender stereotypes in their adverts and vowed to stop featuring boys exclusively with cars and soldiers, and girls playing with dolls.

Published: 28 April 2022 09:36 CEST
Spain moves to end gender stereotypes in toy adverts
Several other European nations, including France and Britain, have in recent years adopted similar moves to end gender stereotyping in adverts for toys.(Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

The code of conduct it agreed with Spain’s leftist government aims to “avoid biases and gender roles and the sexualised representation of girls,” the Consumer Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

It will come into effect on December 1st, just before Christmas when toys fly off shop shelves.

The protocol will prohibit the “exclusive association” of girls with toys that reproduce roles of “caregiving, domestic work or beauty” and boys with “action, physical activity or technology”.

“Toys will not be presented with the express or tacit indication that they are for one gender or another nor will colour associations be made (such as pink for girls and blue for boys),” the statement added.

The agreement was signed between the government, the Spanish Association of Toy Manufacturers and Autocontrol, an independent advertising self-regulatory organisation.

In December the consumer affairs ministry staged a symbolic “strike” by toys at a Madrid park to protest against gender stereotypes.

Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzón has sparked controversy in the past by calling on Spaniards to eat less meat and banning advertising for sweets aimed at children in a bid to fight obesity.

Several other European nations, including France and Britain, have in recent years adopted similar moves to end gender stereotyping in adverts for toys.

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LIFE IN SPAIN

EXPLAINED: Spain’s new monthly pass to access porn websites

Spain's government will soon launch an app which forces people who want to watch porn online to use their official digital ID in order to get a monthly pass for adult content websites, a move aimed at protecting children from pornography.

Published: 3 July 2024 11:12 CEST
EXPLAINED: Spain's new monthly pass to access porn websites

In Spain, the average age of a child’s first exposure to pornography is between eight and nine years old and 50 percent of children between 11 and 13 years old actively watch or look at this type of content, according to data collected by the Dale Una Vuelta association, which aims to help porn addicts.

The association has been asking for regulation for years, particularly because last year it was revealed that there has been a rise in sexual attacks by minors who watch porn. There has been a total increase of 116 percent in sexual assaults carried out by children in the last five years.

READ ALSO – ‘Learning through porn’: Concern in Spain over rise in sexual attacks by minors

Digital Transformation Minister José Luis Escrivá explained that the app should be fully operational within the next couple of months.

Essentially it will be able to verify the user’s age and issue a credential, which will be valid for 30 days. This will prevent anyone under the age of 18 from accessing a porn site. 

Users must request authorisation through the Beta Digital Wallet application, which will be downloadable onto a mobile phone.

The person must then identify themselves using an electronic DNI, digital certificate or Cl@ve.

Based on the data collected, the person’s age will be verified before they can access a site. This will expire after one month, when they will have to reapply for more credentials.

It works in a similar way to a mobile phone wallet. When you access an adult content platform, the website itself will provide a QR code that must be scanned from the application to prove that you are of age.

Monthly renewal is necessary to prevent web pages from keeping all of the users’ browsing data.

Currently, only adult content platforms in Spain will be required to carry out this verification, but the Ministry has requested the collaboration of other places such as social networks or instant messaging apps.

The National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) will also manage a list of pages with adult content not subject to Spanish jurisdiction, with the aim that browsers will be able to verify the age of those who want to access it, before revealing any content.

The Digital Wallet can also be used to store other official documents, such as university degrees, registration data or electronic DNI.

However, cybersecurity experts say the app will be subject to basic technical flaws, which will make the system totally ineffective.

The initiative has also raised all kinds of ethical, technical and legal questions, with many saying they people shouldn’t have to identify themselves in the same way they do to pay their taxes to be able to access porn. 

The monthly pass has been jokingly dubbed in the Spanish press as pajaporte, a play on words between paja (wank) and pasaporte (passport). 

Minister Escrivá has justified the plan by saying that we need to tackle the problem of children accessing porn. “The data we see regarding minors’ access to adult content and its possible consequences are what have led us to develop this tool as quickly as possible,” he said. 

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