CASE NUMBER: 19/2006 – STANLEY VS SABC3 – SEX

A complaint was received in regard to the explicit sex which was shown when the film Monster’s Ball was broadcast as from 21:00.The Tribunal agreed that the film was sexually too explicit for 21:00. Although 21:00 is the start of the watershed, it does not mean that the watershed is a “waterfall.” The watershed does shift the onus to a certain extent to parents and other guardians, but the broadcaster can never abdicate its responsibility fully. Even after midnight it is not permitted to show so-called XX material. There is also a constant duty to inform viewers of what they are about to see. The classification and age restriction must, as arranged with TV broadcasters, be screened for 180 seconds and after advertisement breaks for 30 seconds. The complaint is upheld and the SABC 3 is reprimanded. It would have been more appropriate to have screened this film as from 22:00. The Tribunal does not believe that the contravention was so serious that it justifies the imposition of a fine. Of course, if a similar error is made in future, this judgment will be taken into consideration in deciding upon the appropriate sanction.