'Child porn difficult to monitor'
8 July 2008, 14:42
By Vivian Attwood
South African courts are battling to comprehend the magnitude of child pornography even though the country has specific anti-pornography legislation.
This is what emerged at a seminar on the amended Film and Publications Act in Durban on Monday.
Prof Karthy Govender, a commissioner with the South African Human Rights Commission and chairperson of the Film and Publications review board, said while South Africa was the only country in Africa with specific child anti-pornography legislation, even the courts struggle to understand the scale of child pornography.
Govender was a guest speaker in a series of participatory lectures on present legislation aimed at promoting a greater understanding of the ramifications of certain acts and the challenges facing those charged with their implementation.
The series is being co-hosted by the Human Rights Commission and the Democracy Development Programme (DDP) at Diakonia Centre in St Andrews Street in Durban.
Govender said because of the difficulties inherent in monitoring the internet and the virtual impossibility of cellphone monitoring, these tools of access were particularly worrying in their distribution of pornography.
"It is very difficult to enforce some of the provisions of the Act," he conceded.
"There is no way to control peer-to-peer distribution of pornographic material on cellphones, for instance.
"We help foster the vulnerability of our children by providing them with this type of technology."
Iyavar Chetty, the CEO of the Film and Publications Board, added: "Parents need to be aware of the risks their children face. Parents need to regulate their behaviour and access to the internet."
Chetty said that South Africa, and the rest of the world, faced a huge challenge protecting youth against sexual exploitation, including pornography.
Heinous
"This is the most heinous crime against children, which is spreading rapidly worldwide, and the images we are seeing are of younger and younger children," he added.
Chetty said that in the United States alone, the profits generated by pornography were higher than those of the Hollywood movie industry, and averaged between $3-billion and $20-billion annually.
Chetty said that while written accounts of victims' experiences made for less than pleasant reading, they were important to study if there was to be understanding of the devastating effects of pornography and sexual exploitation on children.
"The legal definition of child pornography does not adequately portray its stark reality," he said.
"Often the sentences meted out by judges to child sex offenders and pornographers are woefully inadequate.
"Child pornography exists wherever there is a computer and a modem. Rather than blocking your children's access to the information highway, teach them how to navigate it safely," Chetty said.
Joan van Niekerk, national director of Childline, was another keynote speaker at Monday's event.
She highlighted a series of concerns relating to the sexual exploitation of children.
"We have a very complex set of laws and policies in place to deal with the problem. Unfortunately, a lot of policies do not speak to each other, and this reduces their effectiveness," she said.
Van Niekerk said the decentralisation of child protection units had acted counter to the interests of abused and exploited children, and she appealed for the decision to be re-examined.
"The decentralisation means that a lot of untrained officers are dealing with child abuse and pornography," she explained.
Call Childline toll free at 0800 5555 if you have any concerns relating to the possible exploitation of your own or someone else's child.
South African courts are battling to comprehend the magnitude of child pornography even though the country has specific anti-pornography legislation.
This is what emerged at a seminar on the amended Film and Publications Act in Durban on Monday.
Prof Karthy Govender, a commissioner with the South African Human Rights Commission and chairperson of the Film and Publications review board, said while South Africa was the only country in Africa with specific child anti-pornography legislation, even the courts struggle to understand the scale of child pornography.
Govender was a guest speaker in a series of participatory lectures on present legislation aimed at promoting a greater understanding of the ramifications of certain acts and the challenges facing those charged with their implementation.
The series is being co-hosted by the Human Rights Commission and the Democracy Development Programme (DDP) at Diakonia Centre in St Andrews Street in Durban.
Govender said because of the difficulties inherent in monitoring the internet and the virtual impossibility of cellphone monitoring, these tools of access were particularly worrying in their distribution of pornography.
"It is very difficult to enforce some of the provisions of the Act," he conceded.
"There is no way to control peer-to-peer distribution of pornographic material on cellphones, for instance.
"We help foster the vulnerability of our children by providing them with this type of technology."
Iyavar Chetty, the CEO of the Film and Publications Board, added: "Parents need to be aware of the risks their children face. Parents need to regulate their behaviour and access to the internet."
Chetty said that South Africa, and the rest of the world, faced a huge challenge protecting youth against sexual exploitation, including pornography.
Heinous
"This is the most heinous crime against children, which is spreading rapidly worldwide, and the images we are seeing are of younger and younger children," he added.
Chetty said that in the United States alone, the profits generated by pornography were higher than those of the Hollywood movie industry, and averaged between $3-billion and $20-billion annually.
Chetty said that while written accounts of victims' experiences made for less than pleasant reading, they were important to study if there was to be understanding of the devastating effects of pornography and sexual exploitation on children.
"The legal definition of child pornography does not adequately portray its stark reality," he said.
"Often the sentences meted out by judges to child sex offenders and pornographers are woefully inadequate.
"Child pornography exists wherever there is a computer and a modem. Rather than blocking your children's access to the information highway, teach them how to navigate it safely," Chetty said.
Joan van Niekerk, national director of Childline, was another keynote speaker at Monday's event.
She highlighted a series of concerns relating to the sexual exploitation of children.
"We have a very complex set of laws and policies in place to deal with the problem. Unfortunately, a lot of policies do not speak to each other, and this reduces their effectiveness," she said.
Van Niekerk said the decentralisation of child protection units had acted counter to the interests of abused and exploited children, and she appealed for the decision to be re-examined.
"The decentralisation means that a lot of untrained officers are dealing with child abuse and pornography," she explained.
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Daily News on July 08, 2008
Cape Town
