IF SOUTH African print and electronic media continue to transgress their own voluntary ethical codes, then punitive legislation should be introduced and enforced. This was the word from legislators, legal experts and child-rights bodies at a workshop this week that focused on how child abuse is reported in the media.
The seminar was convened by the media watchdog body, the Media Monitoring Project (MMP), and the United Nations Children’s Fund in response to what the MMP has called a “disregard” by sections of the media of legislation governing the rights of children, through reportage that violates children’s (and their family’s) rights to privacy and dignity.
According to the MMP’s director, William Bird, the organisation has monitored the reporting of child abuse in the media in recent months and has found that in many cases children who are victims of abuse have been identified.
During the seminar Bird cited the highly publicised case of the abduction of Pretoria schoolgirl Nadia Neethling last year. The child’s photograph was repeatedly flighted on television and in newspapers, with details of her alleged sexual assault at the hands of her abductors.
Well-known constitutional law expert Gilbert Marcus said the main problem is that the voluntary codes of conduct governing the media “don’t seem to be working”. As it currently stands, members of the public who find their rights have been violated by media reporting have recourse in the form of the Advertising Standards Authority for advertising-related complaints, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission for television and radio reporting, and the Press Ombudsman for reports in the print media. But the guidelines relating to reporting on a variety of issues, including child abuse and sexual assault, are voluntary and, aside from making a finding and issuing a report, none of these bodies can actually sanction a media group in the form of a penalty or fine.
In addition, Section 154 (3) of the Criminal Procedure Act states it is illegal to identify children who are either witnesses or perpetrators in a criminal act if they are under the age of 18.
South Africa is also signatory to several treaties on children’s rights, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the government ratified in 1995.
The South African Law Commission will be giving attention to reportage of child-abuse cases in its discussion paper on sexual offences: among its proposals are that no details may be released about an under-aged accused or victim in a sexual assault case, especially if the hearing is ordered by a judge to be held in camera.
Media organisations defended the way in which stories were covered, arguing that the publicity given to such stories, especially child abductions, assist when members of the public come forward with information. But legal experts were unanimous that the right to press freedom and freedom of expression had to be weighed up against the constitutionally guaranteed rights given to children, including the rights to dignity and privacy.
“Nobody is in favour of state regulation of the media, but this doesn’t detract from the need to put in place a system ensuring that vulnerable sectors of society are protected,” says Marcus.