- We don't try to be controversial, says Wicked Campers
- Greens put motion to Senate condemning 'sexist, racist' slogans
Wicked Campers has come under increasing pressure this week after an online petition kicked off by Sydney mother Paula Orbea gained national attention, triggering widespread calls for the company to remove explicit slogans form its vans.
The petition - launched after Ms Orbea's daughter spotted a Wicked van in the Blue Mountains with "In every princess, there's a little slut who wants to try it just once" written on the back - now has more than 100,000 signatures.
Ms Orbea has since received an email from the company, offering a personal apology and informing her that the slogan had been removed.
"The kind of sexism and misogyny on those Wicked Campers vans... condones a rape culture that sees one-in-three Australian women sexually assaulted in their lifetimes."
"Wicked Campers Owner, John Webb wishes to acknowledge the prevailing community opinion by REMOVING the slogan in question and making a commitment over the coming six months to changing slogans of an insensitive nature," it read.
Ms Orbea described the company's change of heart as a "people power win".
"The kind of sexism and misogyny on those Wicked Campers vans may seem trivial, but it's not – it's degrading to women, harmful for our children to consume, and condones a rape culture that sees one-in-three Australian women sexually assaulted in their lifetimes," she said.
Wicked owners respond: 'We just want to have a good time'
A motion to stop the company "promoting violence against women" with slogans painted on its vehicles was also passed unanimously in the Senate this afternoon.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters had moved the motion earlier in the day following the petition.
Senator Waters told SBS that it was a clear cut case that the slogans in question were “entirely sexist and misogynist”, as well as “basically inciting sexual violence”.
“I think, in order to send a really strong message to company and to challenge the prevailing culture that normalises violence against women, I sought the Senate’s consent to pass a motion condemning those slogans,” she said.
Senator Waters referenced violence against women in her argument for the motion, saying that the statistics on domestic violence were “just horrific”.
“The last thing we want is causal sexism emblazoned a vehicle that effectively normalises a culture of violence against women,” she said.
"It’s really pleasing to see that the company has responded to the clear public concern.”
Should Wicked Campers be banned? SBS's Lin Taylor reports
