A father from Queensland, who has three children, is urging shopping centers to reconsider the placement of graphic Halloween displays, arguing that some of the scenes are so intense they deserve an MA 15+ rating.
Tim Doecke has expressed concern over Westfield shopping centers, which every spring transform their entrances and walkways with Halloween-themed merchandise. This setup, he claims, makes it difficult for parents to protect young children from potentially disturbing images.
“One of our sons is aware it’s Halloween season and he avoids going to the shops,” Doecke explained.
“He keeps his eyes shut when we pass the checkout area in Kmart to ensure he can sleep peacefully at night. For him, the shops aren’t a safe environment.”
According to Doecke, traditional Halloween symbols like spiders, cobwebs, and pumpkins aren’t the problem.
“It’s the stores, especially discount ones, exhibiting items like severed limbs, human organs on plates, and masks depicting zombies or decomposing faces. Content of this nature is typically reserved for R18 movies and shouldn’t be permissible in public areas,” he stated.
Mr Doecke said that while seasonal retail displays were expected, the growing intensity of Halloween promotions was alarming.
Father-of-three Tim Doecke (pictured) is calling for Halloween displays to be moved to designated areas to avoid traumatising young children
Parents are unable to protect their children from being exposed to graphic content at the shops
Halloween merchandise for sale at a discount store at Sunshine Plaza in Maroochydore
‘Studies in child psychology show links between exposure to violent images and increased anxiety, fear, and even sleep disturbances in children,’ he said.
‘Children and young people passing through shopping centres, whether with family or with friends, cannot easily avoid these displays.
‘Parents lose the chance to decide what their children confront.’
Mr Doecke said just as alcohol, tobacco, and restricted-age films are placed in designated areas, so too should violent or frightening Halloween merchandise.
He said shops can relocate Halloween displays to areas which customers seeking such products can easily access, but which families with young children can also avoid.
Mr Doecke said he had first-hand experience of the lingering impact of being exposed to graphic content.
‘I remember when I was 10 and visiting family friends, my friend showed me a book about the history of war,’ he said.
‘He opened a page that showed ancient torture techniques.
Mr Doecke said discount stores were the worst offenders selling merchandise such as severed limbs, human organs on plates, masks of zombies and decomposing faces
A petition on Change.org has garened hundreds of signatures in support of the call
The picture was of men being impaled on sticks. I wasn’t expecting to see that. That was 33 years ago, and I can still see the image in my mind.’
Mr Doecke has launched a petition on Change.org, which has 1500 signatures in support.
‘It needs to come down to strong regulations and classification standards, as the variety of discount stores are the major offenders, don’t have a single governing body,’ he said.
The Daily Mail contacted Scentre Group, the largest owner of shopping centres in Australia, including 37 Westfields across the country.
It did not respond to questions regarding the number of complaints it had received over graphic displays or whether it had policies on what was appropriate for Halloween displays in its centres.
Meanwhile, several councils have declared war on Halloween decorations, with the Inner West Council in Sydney urging residents to ‘avoid the horror of dangerous decorations’ in a Facebook post on Monday.
The council said wildlife can ingest or get stuck in synthetic cobwebs, fishing line and balloons.
It recommended using organic cotton wool, leaves and pumpkins instead.
Councils are declaring war on Halloween merchandise, including artificial spider webs, that can cause harm to wildlife
Sydney’s Willoughby Council also asked residents to avoid using synthetic spiderwebs, due to the risk it poses to wildlife.
Marion Council in Adelaide’s south banned the use of artificial webs on council land to protect wildlife.
The council said the fake webs can trap and harm birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, and the material can be taken to create nests and the toxic material endangers chicks.
Earlier this week, the council warned artificial webs placed on council land, including nature strips and verges, faced removal by council inspectors.
