Over 13 000 people oppose porn on DSTV
2010-03-03 16:45
More than 13 000 people have said no to pornography on DSTV in a
campaign opposing the launch of a new channel, trade union Solidarity said
today.
Some public figures had added their voices to the internet and sms
campaign, with votes against pornography, Solidarity said in a statement.
It launched its Helping Hand campaign after newspaper reports in
the past week that MultiChoice, the owner of DSTV, was considering introducing a
pornography channel and was researching viewer interest.
MultiChoice spokeswoman Jackie Rakitla said it had been inundated
with requests by viewers for adult content on DSTV.
“On the face of it, MultiChoice is not really doing anything wrong,
as the Bill of Rights entitles the media to offer viewers a choice,” said Danie
Langner, the executive director of Helping Hand, an organisation set up by
Solidarity to act on child crimes.
“However, children’s rights will be violated if the decision is
made to offer pornographic channels,” he said.
“As [former] President [Nelson] Mandela rightly said, the character
of a nation is measured by the way it treats children.
“If one looks at the Bill of Rights, it is clear that the best
interests of children are of crucial importance in respect of every issue that
affects them,” Langner said.
A Helping Hand report last year on crimes against children showed
that 77% of molesters of boys and 87% of molesters of girls used pornography and
acted it out on their victims.
“Pornography promotes perverseness and research shows that it is
not true that rape and sexual abuse decrease when pornography is freely
available,” he said.
Langner also referred to the recent case of Cézanne Visser, also
known as Advocate Barbie, who was recently found guilty on 11 charges including
sexual assault, possession and production of child pornography.
“This once again put the spotlight on the danger that pornography
poses to children. There is a strong correlation between pornography and child
molestation,” he said.
“All those who watch pornography are not necessarily molesters, but
according to experts all child molesters watch pornography.”
The Helping Hand report found, among other things, that victims of
sexual abuse knew their perpetrators in 90 % of cases.
“Perversion is aroused by pornography [and] because family members
or acquaintances are largely responsible for abuse, child abuse will increase
dramatically,” Langner said.
- SAPA