CASE NUMBER: 25/2007 – SLABBERT VS SABC RADIO – 5FM – DIGNITY

Complaint that presenter’s comments on a news item about a runaway teenager who was kept as a sex slave, showed a lack of compassion, was disturbing and made a mockery of the suffering endured by sex slaves.  The Tribunal conceded that the comments might have been in questionable taste, but that it must be borne in mind that the presenter’s personal style is to be controversial in order to evoke participation and different points of view from his audience.  Furthermore, the right to dignity must be balanced against the right to freedom of expression. The Constitutional Court has held that freedom of speech includes the right to air offensive material within reasonable limits. The question considered was whether the remarks amount to an invasion of collective dignity of a substantial number of people belonging to a certain section of the population (namely people used as sex slaves) who might have been listening.  The test was not whether the Tribunal would regard the remarks as appropriate, the question was whether these remarks have exceeded the limits of the broadcaster’s freedom of expression.  It was concluded that the presenter moved within the limits of what is acceptable, and judged in context, the remarks could not be regarded to have exceeded the limits of the broadcaster’s freedom of expression.  The complaint was not upheld.