The government will soon strike at senior public and private figures who are indulging in child pornography on the Internet, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on
Tuesday.
”Our warning to them is that they have now been unmasked and it is only a matter of time before we reach them.
”Society cannot tolerate their kind anymore and serious action will be taken against them in accordance with the law,” she told the National Assembly.
Mapisa-Nqakula pledged that the government would pay adequate attention to the issue of child pornography ”as it eats away into the fibre of our society and the need to protect our children”.
”We are aware of very senior people both in the public and private sector who have indulged themselves in the practice of child pornography through the Internet,” she said.
The DA’s Mike Waters welcomed the deputy minister’s
announcement, saying one area that needed urgent attention was that of child pornography, particularly on the Internet.
”There has been a dramatic increase of child porn sites on the Internet reported by the police to the (film and publications) board.
”To give members an example, last year, the board dealt with one case per month, which has increased drastically this year to at least one per week.”
The board had submitted draft legislative amendments to the department for consideration about a year ago, in order to combat the crime.
”While the department may not agree with the exact wording of the proposed legislation put forward by the board, the DA would urge the honourable minister to give attention to the matter… in order for this house and society at large to engage in debate around the issue.”
Waters said another cause for concern was the education of school children on Internet safety, as not only was there a risk of children downloading pornography, but there was an ever increasing
threat of children meeting paedophiles through chat rooms.
”This is called stranger danger. The UK is currently
investigating its first murder case where a young girl met a man in a chat room who turned out to be a paedophile.
”Children have to be educated about the possible dangers. Here the department, through the board and the education department, can play an important role,” he said. – Sapa