Porn restrictions aim ‘to protect children’
from iol.co.za
Edwin Naidu
April 09 2006 at 10:38AM
The government is clamping down on pornography. South Africa’s revised porn law restricting the sale of sex publications to adult stores comes into effect on July 1.
The new regulations in the Films and Publications Act make it an offence to sell publications likes Hustler, Loslyf and Playboy at garages, local cafés or magazine stores.
But men’s health magazines and women’s interest magazines promoting sex awareness will also fall within the ambit of the law if articles in the magazine border on pornography rather than sex education.
The new law also bars porn magazines or websites from selling products over the Internet, effectively jeopardising the future of many adult businesses which, according to an industry source, get the bulk of their revenue in the sex industry from such selling of items including lingerie, sex toys and “performance-enhancing” pills.
“Jobs will go in the industry just because politicians want to be seen to be doing something,” said the industry source, who did not want to be named.
“The laws affect everyone, from distributors to editorial staff and people who pack magazines and products. More than 100 people could be affected if businesses stop trading because of the law,” he said.
Iyavar Chetty, the senior official regarded as one of South Africa’s leading experts on pornography at the Johannesburg-based Film and Publications Board (FPB), has already announced a national list of officers tasked with monitoring compliance by porn magazine distributors and web content managers. “The issue is not porn, but rather making it more difficult for such material to be accessed by children,” he said.
He said distributors and publishers of adult magazines would have to submit their publications for classification by the FPB. The underlying objective was to protect children from harmful and disturbing material.
“We are not censoring the rights of adults to read whatever they want, except for child pornography; we are implementing these laws to protect children,” Chetty said.
A publication will be classified XX if it includes explicit violent sexual conduct, bestiality, rape or explicit sex. Material in this category will be allowed for personal and private use and may not be shown to anyone else, while that with an X18 rating can be distributed only to adults by licensed adult stores.
Simulated sex or “images of explicit sexual conduct” will be classified X18. Sexual conduct as defined by the board includes male genitalia in a state of arousal, undue display of genitalia or anuses, masturbation, bestiality, sexual intercourse and sexual contact including the touching of intimate body parts such as breasts or genitalia.
Publications categorised as X18 must be distributed sealed in an opaque cover and must carry information about the adult content. The law will apply to international magazines such as Playboy; but distributors must make written submissions for their publications to be made available locally.
Anybody guilty of breaking the law regarding distribution could face a fine or a minimum of five years in prison, or both. The penalty for Internet websites dealing in child pornography is a fine or prison term of up to 10 years, or both. Six-month jail terms and fines will be imposed for smaller pornography offences. Companies distributing porn and found guilty of offences will have to lodge deposits of up to R2 000 with the board.
“Parliament does not want people under 18 to have access to pornographic material and the only way to make sure of this is to ensure that distribution takes place at licensed adult shops where adults are free to buy whatever they wish to read,” Chetty said.
Karin Eloff, the editor of Loslyf, the Afrikaans adult publication, said she was meeting the film board this week to discuss the regulations. However, the measures implied that distribution and sales of the magazine would be affected.
“Shop owners should not sell adult material to children, just as they should not sell cigarettes and alcohol to minors,” she said. “The onus is on parents to be more vigilant and to protect their children from exposure to adult material in much the same way as they should keep alcohol and firearms under lock and key.”
Kaitira Kandjii, the regional director of the Media Institute of South Africa, said she was against any form of censorship and censoring adult magazines was uncalled for. There were regulations and legislation pertaining to material depicting bestiality and child abuse. “There is no point subjecting normal adult material to government or official scrutiny,” she said.
Kandjii said South Africa’s latest porn regulations set a dangerous precedent with regard to free expression and media freedom in particular.
o This article was originally published on page 4 of Sunday Independent on April 09, 2006