Pornography

Jody Kollapen South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) chairperson proposed new laws on child pornography that will expand definitions of the crime and tighten existing regulations to protect child victims.

Kollapen’s report deals with the production of pornographic material involving children and the dissemination of that material. In a growing age of the ease of technology, one sees the impact that this could have on broader society but also on the interests and rights of children, Kollapen stated. Our Constitution carries within it the paramount principle that the best interests of the child matter — and matter significantly. It’s an important area for us to consider in the context of our society.  The SALRC also proposed that the database be linked to Interpol’s international child sexual exploitation image database.

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Child safety groups urged pornography websites to introduce age verification tools as quickly as possible to better protect children from harmful content and to bring them in line with the British Board of Film Classification ratings. Video works that are given ratings of between 12, 15, 18, or R18 certificates are legally restricted, and it is against the law for anybody underage to obtain such material. They argue that many porn sites feature depictions of practices that meet the definition of criminal standards for sexual violence.

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Nigerian singer cum politician, Bankole Wellington, popularly known as Banky W, has opened up on his spiritual life and how he overcame porn addiction and promiscuity by filling a “God void” he long had. Banky W revealed that he struggled with promiscuity and pornography and he felt he was on bondage and needed cleansing. Without filling that void there is an emptiness and you feel disconnected from that source. That’s why you see some of these billionaires commit suicide”.

In the eyes of the world I was a successful artist, but I still felt empty and wretched. There were things I was struggling with on a personal basis. Everything from promiscuity to pornography just, real things that people struggled with on a personal basis.

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In commemoration of this year’s Child Sexual Abuse Awareness Week, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Monday prodded the government to increase efforts in supporting victims and preventing more cases of child sexual abuse.

The agency said in a statement that child exploitation reflects a failure to protect the most vulnerable. The marginalised sector, now more than ever, needs the government’s utmost protection in unprecedented times like this. This warning comes at the wake of a pandemic that has led to worsening socio-economic factors, which according to the CHR, also led to an increase of child abuse and sexual exploitation. This statement is reinforced by the findings of the Department of Justice which has noted a 264% increase of online sexual exploitation of children amid the pandemic.

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While parents should protect their children against online risks such as online grooming, sexting and pornography, they should also prepare the youngsters for encounters with such issues, according to Associate Professor Daniel Fung, chief executive of the Institute of Mental Health.

This comes amid a surge in the number of children exposed to inappropriate sexual content with the prevalence of digital devices to view such material.

Noting that it is almost impossible to regulate pornography on the Internet, Prof Fung said parents should help children understand that such content exists and why it is not good to watch it. Instead of treating it as a taboo topic, parents can take the opportunity to discuss with them, explain what pornography is and why it is harmful, he added.

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A bill to prohibit books deemed “obscene” from Tennessee school libraries advanced through the Criminal Justice Subcommittee after hours-long discussion with celebrities, parents and education professionals alike. Former SNL member, Victoria Jackson, stated that people are stealing the innocence of children through obsene books. Supporters of the bill said some books have descriptions of excessive violence or even pornography. The bill passed with a vote of 7-3.

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Sexual intercourse with a minor aged 12-14 will now be regarded as rape. Previously it was only classified as sex with a minor, carrying a maximum sentence of eight years in prison. But in many cases, adult perpetrators have got off with a lenient sentence if they were able to demonstrate they had a meaningful relationship with the child. The law was too lenient. The maximum sentence for such an offence is now 12 years in prison. Importantly, it makes it absolutely illegal for a child aged 12-14 to consent to having sex with an adult. Other laws were also passed. Sex dolls of children have been banned, and more powers have been granted to the police to conduct secret searches in cases of child pornography.

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An online passport would not only fail to stop children from watching porn – it would be the most intrusive identity scheme of all. The UK Government’s announcement this week that children will be better protected from online porn has been warmly welcomed. The problem is, it’s incredibly hard to enforce such steps online because it creates serious privacy and fraud risks, and is unlikely to achieve the goal of protecting children. Commercial porn websites could indeed request credit card details to grant users access. But, there’s little to stop a child from using a parents’ or older sibling’s card details.

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As part of a new internet safety bill, the UK government has announced all pornography websites will be legally required to verify that users are age 18 or older. Under the bill, porn sites must establish robust checks to protect children from accessing them and could use secure age verification technology to confirm a user has a credit card, or use a third-party service to confirm their age against government data. If sites fail to comply, they can be fined up to 10 percent of their annual global turnover, could also be blocked in the UK, and their officials could be held criminally liable, the government stated. The current online safety bill only covers commercial porn sites that allow user-generated content. The proposed update will regulate all commercial porn sites.

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