STANDING
TOGETHER TO OPPOSE PORNOGRAPHY SUBMISSION
Honourable
Chairman,
Honourable Members,
Thank you for this opportunity to speak today.
We are making this oral presentation on behalf of the organisation
"Standing Together to Oppose Pornography" known commonly as S.T.O.P.
Given the focus of our organisation, which is pornography and sexually explicit
material, we support the Amendment Bill insofar as it endeavours to protect
children from the making and distribution of child pornography and also from
exposure to adult pornography and age-inappropriate sexually explicit material.
At this point we must strongly emphasise that in terms of harm to children no
distinction should be made between child and adult pornography. The bottom line
is simply that exposure of children to any form of pornography or
age-inappropriate sexually explicit material whatsoever causes them untold
harm.
Indeed there is a wealth of this evidence of harm which has been reported and
researched worldwide in medical, sociological and psychological publications
over more than 20 years. More to the point are current reports in our own
country including the Research Report, November 2006, from the Film &
Publications Board (FPB). It is beyond the scope of this presentation to
enlarge on this.
We must mention that we are also deeply concerned about the exposure of
children and young people to violence in any form.
We will now proceed to the main points already addressed in our written
submissions.
1. VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND WOMEN
We note with grave concern the apparent omission of "incest, rape and
bestiality", within the current proposed Film & Publication
Amendment Bill 2006, under headings Substitution of Section 16 and Substitution
of Section 18 of the Principal Act, currently classified as XX in Schedules 1
and 6. Could this simply be an error of omission?
We strongly suggest that "incest and bestiality" be classified
as "Refused Classification" as we cannot afford to sanction the
creation, distribution and possession of material which, in reality,
constitutes a criminal
offence in terms of the Republic's criminal law. As indicated by research, an
overwhelming incidence of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by persons known to
the victim, frequently family members.
With respect to "rape" and any form of "sexual or
domestic violence ", the intended classification of such material as
XX or X 18 would effectively legitimise and eroticise the degradation,
exploitation and cruel treatment of women and girls. This not only harms women
and girls, but adversely influences men and boys, as it validates criminal acts
of sexual violence. Therefore, as with "incest and bestiality", we
would suggest that the criminal offence of "rape" also be
classified as "Refused Classification". Our country's enormous
problem with incest and rape adds urgency to the above.
With further reference to the apparent omission of "incest, rape and
bestiality", we firmly believe this would not be in accordance with
the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act No.4 of
2000 (PEPUDA), Section 8 "Prohibition of unfair discrimination on ground
of gender". 8(d) refers to "any practice, including
traditional, customary or religious practice, which impairs the dignity of
women
and undermines equality between women and men, including the undermining of the
dignity and wellbeing of the girl child".
We also
believe this omission would not be in accordance with our commitments to the
international human rights obligations as found in tne African
Commission on Human and People's Rights (African Charter):
Article 4(1) & (2): The Rights to Life, Integrity and Security of the Person
(1) Every woman shall be entitled to respect for her life and the integrity and
security of her person.
All forms of exploitation, cruel, inhumane or degrading punishment and
treatment shall be prohibited.
(2) States Parties shall take appropriate and effective measures to: enact and
enforce laws to prohibit all forms of violence against women including unwanted
or forced sex whether the violence takes place in private or public.
As well as in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW):
Article 5
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures:
(a) To modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women,
with a view to
achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices
which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of
the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women. [emphasis added]
As can be seen
in an extract from an article entitled "A cruel edge: The painful truth
about today's pornography - and what men can do about it" (2004) by
Professor Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas, USA, it is
relevant to note that there is an alarming demand by men and boys for ever crueler
pornography as can be seen in the following extract:
"As Jerome Tanner put it during a pornography directors' roundtable
discussion featured in 'Adult Video News', 'People just want it harder, harder
and harder, because like Ron said, what are you gonna do next?' Another
director, Jules Jordan, was blunt about his task: '[O]ne of the things about
today's porn and the extreme market, the gonzo market, so many fans want to see
so much more extreme stuff that I'm always trying to figure out ways to do
something different. But it seems everybody wants to see a girl doing d.p.
[dual penetration] now or a gangbang. For certain girls that's great, and I
like to see that for certain people, but a lot of fans are becoming a lot more
demanding about wanting to see the more extreme stuff. It's definitely brought
porn somewhere, but I don't know where it's headed from there.'"
It has recently become evident that the print and visual media are exploiting
this demand. This can be seen in the increasingly explicit press reports of
rape, sexual and domestic violence, especially evident in the tabloids. The
unfortunate effect is that viewers/readers are apt to become desensitised and,
after repeated exposure, to see these violent acts as being virtually condoned.
2. TELEVISION
Based on worldwide research, on reported specific observations in our own
country and, indeed on plain common sense, there can be no question as to the
role of TV in influencing behaviour. Particularly tragic are effects on even
young children resulting, inter alia, in the increasing child-on-child sexual
abuse, as reported by, for example, Childline and Teddybear Soweto Clinic.
There can be no doubt that much of our societal decay will simply continue to
increase in parallel to exposure, and acceptance of violence and irresponsible
sexual practices on TV.
The ongoing irresponsible attitude of the broadcast and print media who can
offer no more than pseudo-solutions for protecting children from harmful
content, namely, "switch it off' or "don't buy it", coupled with
the shift of responsibility to the parents, is unacceptable. Do children only
view TV and read magazines within the protective cocoon of their own homes? Do
all children have adequate parental guidance? It would seem that the purveyors
of sleaze are not aware that there are 1 million AIDS orphans in South Africa,
that parental supervision is less than perfect when 50% of marriages in our
country end in divorce and that the absent father system prevails in deprived
socio-economic areas.
The conclusion simply has to be drawn that mere age classification for TV
programmes is a relatively useless precaution. The bottom line is that there is
material that should NEVER be shown on TV.
3. ADVERTISING
This is largely covered in our written submission. Two aspects will be referred
to here.
Firstly, the explosion of sexually suggestive billboards advertising, mainly,
strip clubs. In Gauteng, particularly, the situation has become intolerable to
many who resent this forced exposure to themselves and particularly their
children. What message is being conveyed to children and the youth - is it that
women are not worthy of respect and are to be viewed merely as sex
objects/commodities?
Clearly, the envelope has been pushed beyond the mandate of the Advertising
Standards Authority and we therefore strongly recommend that the Amendment
extend the functions of the Film & Publication Board to include approval of
advertisements. A procedure similar to that used in Australia can be adopted
with respect to advertisements for publications, films or computer games which
are all potentially classifiable. (Please see attachment.)
Secondly, what
of sexually explicit and often overtly illegal adverts in the Classified Advertisements
of the daily newspapers? Are we to allow ourselves the "distinction"
of being the onlv country in the world where it has become acceptable to
flood previously respected family newspapers with advertising of this genre?!!
4.PUBLICATIONS
Popular magazines aimed mainly, but not only, at men (e.g. FHM, GQ, Men's
Health) and sold in virtually all family shopping outlets have for several
years contained overtly pornographic and sexually explicit articles, a trend
which is rapidly escalating. The women's magazine, Cosmopolitan, has not been
slow in following this trend. It has to be asked - is this an attempt to
insidiously mainstream porn?
Tabloids, with their intended circulation targeting mainly the poorer
socio-economic population, have become arch-offenders with their daily diet of
female nudity, sensational, sexually oriented material- even to the point of
falling foul of the law. Not to mention their strong tendency towards violent
material often concentrating on gory, gruesome details.
An example of where they specifically have fallen foul of the law is in the
tabloid the "Daily Voice" of 9 March 2007 and repeated in the 16
March issue, where child porn and bestiality are depicted and described. (The
tabloid will be exhibited.)
We in South Africa are not the only ones with concerns about the premature sexualisation of
children. There is a serious worldwide concern at the impact of the so-called
"lads mags" and tabloids. Retailers such as Wal-Mart in the USA do not stock "lads mags" such as Maxim, FHM or Stuff. In the UK, Tesco has moved the display position of the magazines to the top shelf and Sainsbury
has made a decision to place the magazines behind modesty covers. A Labour MP,
Claire Curtis-Thomas, is so concerned that she has introduced a Bill in the UK
House of Commons to establish an Office for the Regulation of the Sale and Display of Sexually Explicit Material. The main targets were the tabloids and
lad mags. This debate is also continuing in Russia where one of the highest
legal officials has expressed concern about the sexually explicit material in
magazines aimed at teenagers.
A report of the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on the
Sexualisation of Girls (2007) is attached to our second written submission.
5.CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES
The visible lack of regulation of printed matter in our country can be laid at
the door of the existing Guidelines for the classification of publications.
The current Guidelines merely state that the criteria t9 be observed for
publications are the same as for films and computer games. This is totally
inadequate for much of the print media, particularly magazines and tabloids,
given the terminology used for films, viz. "themes",
"scenes" and "plot development".
It is critical that Guidelines be authoritative and reliable to allow decision
makers to make valid decisions. Importantly, this would also serve as a basis
for effective law enforcement.
The role of the Government in approving the Classification Guidelines is not
clear-cut. This has given rise to concerns regarding the drawing up of
Guidelines and the accessing and incorporation of stakeholders' and public
suggestions. Australia has overcome this problem by placing this function in
the Office of the responsible Cabinet Minister.
We understand the difficulties of the Department of Home Affairs in this
regard. Interference might be construed as impinging on the independent
decision-making of the Film & Publication Board.
However, we recommend that the procedure in use in Australia be followed by our
Government as a matter of urgency.
6. MINISTERIAL OBLIGATION
The visible authority given to the Minister, as outlined above in point 5,
would also facilitate the carrying out of his/her obligation as spelt out in
the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act No.4 of
2000 (PEPUDA), viz. the duty which is placed on all Ministers to implement
measures to eliminate any unfair discrimination or perpetuation of any
inequality in any law, policy or practice for which he/she is responsible.
[Section 24(1) and (2)]
In the light of this provision it appears that it should be possible for this
"Ministerial Obligation" to extend to the transforming of the Film
& Publications Act on the basis that the Act has failed to take into
account the reality that all porn exploits, stereotypes and degrades women.
7.STATE RESPONSIBILITY
With reference to Constitutional compliance it is relevant that the Promotion
of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act No.4 of 2000 (PEPUDA)
was enacted by Section 9 of the Constitution to give effect to the letter and
spirit of the Constitution.
We should also note what the African Commission on Human and People's Rights
(African Charter) which came into force on 25 November 2005, has to say on the
rights of women and girl children. For present purposes suffice it to note that
Article 13 (m) states that States Parties are to take effective legislative and
administrative means to prevent the exploitation and abuse of women in
advertising and pornography. [emphasis added]
Surely this,
together with previous Acts of Parliament and South Africa's compliance with
international treaties and conventions, clearly justifies Government resolutely
forging ahead with the aspects of the Amendment Bill which we have focused on
in this presentation. We believe these have not been designed to unreasonably
muzzle the press but rather to regulate and encourage a responsible attitude,
given that hitherto
the media's track record has shown their much vaunted self-regulation to be
ineffective. Here the words of
Chief Justice Pius Langa, in a mid-August 2006 speech at the launching of a
handbook for South African
journalists, have relevance. He said "Freedom of the media, as an
important aspect of democracy, must never be used as an excuse for
irresponsible reporting. Press freedom, like all other rights is subject to
limitation. It is the task of the courts, in interpreting the law and the Bill
of Rights, to articulate the parameters of this right."
8. LAW ENFORCEMENT
Laws without enforcement are useless. Regrettably there appears to be a lack of
willingness to prosecute offenders under the Principle Act, notably that it is
an offence for a person not to "take all reasonable steps to prevent
access of such materials by a person under the age of 18 years." Broadly
speaking "such materials" refer, inter alia, to what is termed adult
porn. This is a case in point where it is vital to have clear classification
guidelines in order to secure a conviction.
Law enforcement would be further facilitated by the creation of a law
enforcement arm within the structure of the Film & Publication Board, as
also by the extension of the powers of the Compliance Inspectors.
In conclusion, let us be well aware that we are being exploited by an industry
firmly linked into organised crime (the drug and human trafficking network) and
whose product has no place in African culture.
Doreen Meissner, Chairlady
Michele
Human, Vice-Chairlady
PART 3 APPROVAL OF ADVERTISEMENTS
Division 1 Approval of general advertisements
29 Approval of advertisements
(1) The Board may approve or refuse to approve an advertisement for a
publication, a film or a computer game either on an application. for approval
or on its own initiative. An approval of an advertisement may be subject to
conditions.
(2) An application for approval of an advertisement must be:
(a) in writing; and
(b) made in a form approved by the Director in writing; and (c) signed by or on
behalf of the applicant; and
(d) accompanied by the prescribed fee for that category of
advertisement.
(3) The matters to be taken into account in deciding whether to approve an
advertisement include the matters set out in section 11 and the classification
guidelines referred to in section 12.
(4) The Board must refuse to approve an advertisement if, in the
opinion of the Board, the advertisement:
(a) describes, depicts or otherwise deals with matters of sex, drug misuse or
addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such
a way that it offends against the standards of morality, decency and propriety
generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that it should not be
approved; or
(b) depicts or describes, in a way that is likely to cause offence to a
reasonable adult, a person who is, or looks like, a child under 16 (whether the
person is engaged in sexual activity or not); or
(c) promotes crime or violence, or incites or instructs in matters
of crime or violence; or
(d) is used, or is likely to be used, in a way that is offensive to a
reasonable adult.
(5) The Board must refuse to approve an advertisement for a
publication if the publication:
(a) has been classified RC; or
(b) is an unclassified submittable publication.
(6) The Board must refuse to approve an advertisement for a film or a
computer game that:
(a) has been classified RC; or
(b) has not been classified.
(7) Paragraph (6)(b) does not apply to a film for which a certificate of
exemption is in force under section 33.
30 Calling in advertisements
(1) The Director may, by notice in writing given to:
(a) the publisher of a publication that:
(i) the Director has reasonable grounds to believe is a
submittable publication; and
(ii) is being published in the Australian Capital Territory, or
the Director has reasonable grounds to believe will be
published in the Australian Capital Territory; or
(b) the publisher of a classified film that is being published in the
Australian Capital Territory, or that the Director has reasonable grounds to
believe will be published in the Australian Capital Territory; or
(c) the publisher of a computer game that is being published in the Australian
Capital Territory, or that the Director has reasonable grounds to believe will
be published in the Australian Capital Territory;
require the publisher to submit to the Board for approval a copy of every
advertisement used or intended to be used in connection with the publishing.
(2) A person to whom a notice under this section is given must, within
3 business days after receiving the notice, comply with the notice.
Penalty: 20 penalty units.