By Tasneem Mohammed

(source: VOCfm Online)

The Media Review Network (MRN) has strongly opposed the possibility of a new sex channel on television, saying it will further tear at the "moral fabric of society." Pay TV service Multichoice is considering broadcasting pornography on its DSTV satellite bouquet however details of what kind of explicit material will be shown is still unknown.

According to the network's Ayesha Laher, any form of pornography is "morally wrong" in all societies and the broadcasting of pornography on a pay-TV service would allow for easier access to the general public. She said the consideration was a clear sign of the "moral decline" of societies.

"It's disgusting to think that people want this readily available. Before it was very difficult finding pornography, but now people want it at their leisure and the easier it is to find, the more people will watch," she said. Laher said this move would have huge implications on the moral and religious values upheld in communities. Children will now have direct access to pornographic material and parents will not have much control over this

Safeguarding kids

"Most parents try to safeguard their kids from seeing explicit content on TV. This easy access creates curiosity in children, who should not be exposed to this type of thing," she said. "Given the increase of sexual and physical violence at schools, this kind of material is dangerous and will negatively impact on young children. Kids always act on what they see and they will think this is normal, acceptable behaviour. We cannot allow this..."

Asked whether this service was being created as a result of public demand, in the same way that the broadcaster catered for faith based communities and other interest groups with certain content, Laher said: "All the religious and cultural channels are informative and valuable for the viewer. Whether you're interested or not, it is important to understand and provides the viewer with good information. I fail to see how pornography can be beneficial to anyone..."

The network hopes the satellite service will implement security measures to prevent a younger audience from viewing the inappropriate material. This may be in the form of a security lock or code. Laher said this would make access more difficult however the question on morality and societal degeneration still remained.

She urged the public to voice their opinions on the issue and to complain to the satellite service provider and Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA). She added that consumers needed to do this in a formal way and as any unorganized protest would push the company to go ahead with the plan. VOC