The two videos removed are among the most controversial and use a milkshake and a shark analogy to discuss the concept of consent.
The videos have been criticised as being patronising, abstract and only serving to muddy the waters around the crucial topic.
In a statement posted online by the Department of Education secretary Michele Bruniges, she said the videos were removed after a review of the $7.8 million Respect Matters campaign.
Data from the Federal Government’s AusTender resource indicates the videos were part of a $3.79 million contract.
“The website contains about 350 resources aimed to support teachers and parents to educate students across all age groups about respectful relationships more broadly.”
“The website is designed to be a live and dynamic resource, with content added, removed, and modified, to ensure it remains current and appropriate.”
In the “milkshake” video, a boy and girl are seen drinking a milkshake, before the girl smears the drink in the boy’s face.
“This is what we call moving the line,” a narrator says.
“When a person imposes their will on you, it’s as if they were moving the ‘yes’ line over the ‘maybe zone’ or the end zone, ignoring your rich inner world and violating your individual freedoms and rights.
“Moving the line is at least disrespectful and at worst abusive.”
In the shark video, a man with a spear gun attempts to convince a woman to swim in shark-infested waters.
‘Woeful, cringeworthy and confusing’
Earlier today, NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell and Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino both blasted the campaign.
Ms Mitchell described the videos as “pretty woeful”, while Mr Merlino labelled them “cringeworthy” and “confusing”.
“I think it’s a missed opportunity about an issue that is really important…They want it to be explicit…I don’t really see the benefit of a milkshake or a taco metaphor,” Ms Mitchell said.
“I’ve got to be frank with you, I was pretty disappointed,” Acting Premier James Merlino said of the video.
“It was confusing. It was cringeworthy, it did not hit the mark.”
Mr Merlino said he won’t be recommending them to Victorian schools.
Advertising expert Dee Madigan described the milkshake video as “six minutes of WTF” in an appearance on Today this morning.
“If you’re talking to teenagers the last thing you want to do is treat them like they’re little children,” Madigan, who has worked on Labor election campaigns in the past, said.
“You know, a milkshake analogy and smearing it over the face is just – it is weird, but the weirdest thing is they’ve made the female the abuser and we know statistically, that is highly unlikely.
“After everything we’ve seen in Canberra, to make the woman the problem, just seems tone deaf.”
Madigan said the government needed to completely needed to rethink their campaign strategy.
“A whole video about sexual assault and consent that doesn’t mention the word “sex” just seems crazy,” she said.
“Treat a 16-year-old or a 15-year-old like they’re not an idiot, because they’re not. And talk to them about actual body parts and what this means and what that means. Have a really open, honest discussion with them.
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