Remember that fabulous scene in the movie Grease when the boys “moon” the camera at the dance? Well, if that happened in Victoria, the bare-bottomed culprits could face up to six months jail time.
The Victorian government will be updating and tightening their public indecency laws with a wide-ranging amendment act, and those who moon in public will now face up to six months in jail.
Mooning was previously punishable under other laws, but is now banned under the Crimes Amendment (Sexual Offences) Act 2016. A new clause in section 17 of the Summary Offences Act 1996 will soon state that “behaviour that is indecent offensive or insulting includes behaviour that involves a person exposing (to any extent) the person’s anal or genital region.” It cites “mooning or streaking” as an example of such an offence.
First-time offenders face up to two months in jail, while repeat offenders could spend six months behind bars.
Attorney General Martin Pakula told the Huffington Post that mooning and streaking had always been illegal under Victorian law, but the amendment sought to specifically separate that type of more harmless prank from acts of sexual exposure, such as flashing:
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“The conduct of mooning or streaking is already an offence under section 17 of the Summary Offences Act 1966, where it is indecent or offensive and in a public place. The recent amendments (which have not yet commenced) simply give examples indicating that mooning or streaking in a public place can be indecent or offensive.
“These amendments contrast with those to the offence of ‘indecent exposure’ in section 19 of the Summary Offences Act , which will be replaced by a new offence of ‘sexual exposure’. This means that the Summary Offences Act will more clearly differentiate between ‘sexual’ exposure, such as flashing (section 19), and ‘offensive or indecent’ exposure – such as mooning on a public bus, or streaking at a sporting event (section 17)”
Social media is having a ball with this story. The tabloid NT News is calling on a full-moon public protest at tonight’s AFL Brownlow Awards.
The laws are not in place yet, but best not to recreate any Grease scenes in public if you’re in Victoria.
