As a mother and children's rights advocate, I am deeply disturbed by a film poster circulating across the UK for 'The Mummy', produced by Blumhouse Productions, Atomic Monster and New Line Cinema, that graphically depicts the corpse of a child.

Such imagery is not only distressing but contributes to a broader culture of desensitisation and dehumanisation when it comes to violence against children. This dangerous normalisation allows for the continued abuse and mistreatment of children worldwide, often with little consequence for those responsible.

In my work as an actor, writer, and filmmaker, I understand the significant influence that the entertainment industry wields. With this influence comes the responsibility to ensure that all marketing and promotional materials are sensitive and respectful, particularly in their depictions of vulnerable populations like children.

This poster not only offends basic sensibilities but also poses a risk of re-traumatising those who have lost children in any capacity. It represents gratuitous violence, exploiting the distress of a dead child for no other purpose than commercial gain – an objective that cannot justify such serious and widespread offence.

Children, who should be shielded from the horrors of this world, should not be exposed to images like this in public places nor should they have their debased images used as commodities to promote media.

Our society must draw a line and demand accountability. The film industry has the power to shape perceptions and must be held to a higher standard of ethics and responsibility, especially at this time when children are being killed and maimed in their thousands across the world and when there are international calls for the truth about multiple global child abuse cases.

I am making two asks.

First: the immediate removal of this poster. I am calling on Transport for London and the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to demand the immediate withdrawal of this poster from all public advertising spaces across the UK.

Second: stronger safeguards so this cannot happen again. I am calling on the Advertising Standards Authority to review and strengthen its guidelines on the depiction of children — and in particular deceased children — in public-facing advertising. Decisions like this one should not be left to the discretion of film studios alone.

Children's rights and dignity are not negotiable. They should not be tradeable against shock value or commercial gain. TFL can act on this. The Mayor can act on this. The ASA can act on this. What they need to know is that the public expects them to.

Please sign this petition. And please share it.

Zawe Ashton