A news programme dealt with the plight of less privileged lesbians in a city – in this case, Durban, South Africa. A complaint was received from a local Gay and Lesbian Society that the programme had not given a balanced picture of the homophobia that exists in under-developed areas. The complaint was that the programme concentrated on a small cross-section of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities and attempted to generalize it findings across the entire LGBT people in South Africa. The documentary consequently perpetuated some of the myths and stereotypes that have plagued homosexuals for a long time.
The Tribunal of the Commission held that likely viewers of the programme would not have come to this conclusion. They would have realized that the programme was not intended to portray the whole LGBT society, but concentrated on the plight of this community within an underdeveloped area. The programme portrayed sensitivity and compassion and was not intended to denigrate the community as a whole.
The complaint was dismissed.