Cleaning Up Your Community of Pornographic Magazines, DVDs and Tabloid Newspapers

Porn magazines include Hustler and Loslyf. There may also be other imported titles (such as Nuts). They are often sold from CNA, Exclusive Books and Seven-11 shops (and some other corner cafes). Check if the shops in your neighbourhood stock these magazines. These magazines regularly include material that should be rated X18 – i.e. they should only be allowed to be sold from “sex shops” such as Adult World. The covers of these magazines, let alone the content, contravene Section 19 of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act- "displaying or exposing or causing the display or exposure of pornography to children" - new provisions which came into effect in December 2007.

Other sexually explicit magazines such as Heat, FHM, GQ, Cleo, Cosmo, Gay Pages and Mate should be in an opaque plastic cover and should be out of reach of children.

The sexually explicit “page 3 girl” in tabloids such as Die Son and The Voice, should also be rated 18. Complain to the manager of shops that sell these tabloids and pressure him to not sell these smutty tabloids.

Your local DVD Hire store often stocks offensive DVDs. The covers are often explicit. As with magazines, you can pressure the store to stop hiring these out or at the very least that these be placed out of reach of children.

How To Speak To Your Local Shop Manager About Pornographic Magazines, DVDs or Tabloid Newspapers

1) Courteously speak to the shop manager and tell him that his display and sale of pornographic materials is offensive to you. Ask him to: (1) put these out of sight, and out of reach of children (2) seek a change in business policy which will discontinue the sale of this material. (3) Turn the offensive magazines upside down and conceal under other magazines and put Christian magazines in front, at eye-level.

2) After a short time, if he still continues to display and sell these products, again speak to the store manager and tell him of your concern. Ask whether he has communicated your concerns to headquarters and sought a change in corporate policy so as to discontinue selling the material; if he has not, repeat your request that he do so. Leave him a copy of a courteous letter stating your concerns, requests, and prior conversations with him on this issue. You could include a leaflet like “Finding Freedom From Pornography” with your letter. This tract is downloadable from the www.christianaction.org.za website. Tell him you will stop patronising his store if he does not comply.

3) If the merchant persists in openly promoting and selling these materials, write a letter to the headquarters office of the store telling them of your concern; send a copy of your letter to the shop manager. Enlist other friends to focus a stream of "Friendly Complaint" letters at the local store, with copies to the corporate headquarters. Please see below for contact details of CNA, 7-11 and Exclusive Books headquarters. Contact us for a sample letter to the Executive Marketing Manger of CNA – you can adapt this for your own use. Copy your complaint to the Film and Publications Board: Fax: 021 761 6926 , bormanc@fpb.gov.za.

4) If there is no change in the store's practices, stop buying at this store. Write to the local store and headquarters office and tell them you will no longer patronize their business. As a “sermon illustration” you can staple all your till slips from the past months to your letter to indicate the volume of trade they are about to lose. Get others to write similar letters.

Head Offices:

Exclusive Books:
PO Box 605, Rivonia, 2128
Tel: 011-798 0000
Fax: 0866794720
Email: edemf@exclusivebooks.co.za

7-Eleven

Owner: Mr Fernando Batista
P.O. Box 3251, Rivonia, 2128
Tel: 011 - 807 – 8992
Fax: 011 -807 – 7638
Email: Fernando@711.co.za

CNA

Gerard Augustine, Executive Marketing Manager -
PO Box 100, Crown Mines, 2025
Tel: 011 - 495 1895
Fax: 086 522 7726
Email: GAugustine@edcon.co.za

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."
2 Timothy 1:7

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

 

BRAVE BELLVILLE LADY DECLARES WAR ON PIMPS AND BROTHELS

 

After pimps and prostitutes turned the Boston (Bellville, Cape Town) children’s playground into an outdoor brothel and residents were solicited in broad daylight, one brave lady decided she had had enough.

 

Says Mary Swanepoel, “I’m an ordinary wife and grandmother but there comes a time when you have to take action. God gave me the courage to step out of my comfort zone and   face the darkness head on.”

 

Not only had one resident been threatened by a pimp outside her own driveway, but children wanting to buy toys now have to walk past the stench of urine, used condoms and broken bottles left in the street by last night’s Teazers and Adult World customers to get to Toys R Us.

 

Residents are worried for the safety of their children. Local resident Lydia van Wyk says, “I had to tell my 3-year-old son that we can't play in the park because ‘there are bad people there’.”

 

I’m not just concerned about the safety of our neighbourhood, but I recognize that the prostitutes are doing this because of spiritual emptiness. They are being exploited and abused. If we can clamp down on the demand – the buyers and the industry, we will also reduce the supply.”

 

All aspects of prostitution are still illegal in South Africa but lax law enforcement and city council licensing departments ‘turning a blind eye’ have led to the spread of street prostitution and Sexually Orientated Businesses into suburban areas.

 

Strip joints and porn shops act as fronts for brothels and are hubs for criminal activity, including sex trafficking and money laundering. All they need to do to get their license approved by the Business Licensing Department is to meet Fire and Health Safety requirements. Porn shops must be licensed with the Film and Publications Board.

 

Mary went and talked to the managers of shops neighbouring these strip joints. She got them to write letters to the City of Cape Town and to the local Ward Councillor about what they have had to put up with from their sleazy neighbours.

 

One shop manager told of how he had to regularly hose down the wall outside his shop to get rid of the stench of urine and another told of his drainpipes being blocked with used condoms.

 

A meeting was also arranged with church leaders, the Boston Ward Councillor, business managers, police and residents to discuss possibilities for getting these brothels shut down and strategies to clamp down on street prostitution.

 

Mary was able to get hold of the floor plan for a new “massage parlour” planning to open in a building complex. The plan clearly shows cubicles with beds and showers. “Anyone with half a brain can see that more than just massaging is going to happen there,” says Mary. “Thankfully, after pointing this out to our ward councillor, the licence for this place has been put on hold.”

 

She encouraged the Boston Neighbourhood Watch to help patrol the area and alert the police. She also got residents to email her details of incidents where they had been intimidated or threatened by pimps. These were collected and given to the police to motivate them to be more alert to what was happening in the area.

 

Former Sea Point Ward Councillor, JP Smith, was able to get several licences of Sexually Orientated Businesses in Sea Point either revoked or new ones blocked by using every possible zoning or council bylaw. The “urban blight” in the area has now visibly been decreased.

 

Mary has been frustrated by the lack of police action in prioritising investigating and clamping down on these brothels, but she continues to persevere in alerting the ward councilor and police to new incriminating evidence.

 

“Who will rise up for Me against the evildoers?  Who will stand up for Me against the workers of iniquity?” Psalm 94:16

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO CLEAN UP YOUR COMMUNITY

1. Speak to the managers of businesses surrounding the sex shops and courteously ask them to write a letter confirming incidents of litter, criminal activities or prostitution occurring in or around those strip joints etc.

2. Arrange a meeting with your local ward councillor and give him/her these letters. Find out about local zoning regulations and bylaws that could potentially prevent further brothels from opening up. Persist with polite pressure.

3. Get your local Neighborhood Watch or Community Policing Forum involved in advising residents of safety measures and alerting the police to incidents.

4. Get church groups to hold prayer vigils, outreaches and placard demonstrations outside the brothels to discourage customers from frequenting the premises.

5. Encourage your community newspaper and radio station to report on the criminal activities happening in and around these places to help galvanise support for your initiatives.

 

Further suggestions from a Bellville resident:

 

1)      Organise a meeting of all residents that are directly affected and are located in and around the streets and children’s playground.

2)      Agree on a formal plan of action that includes the financing of the Closed Circuit TV camera of most effected streets and its PR & Marketing campaign in community newspapers.

3)      Find and finalise best possible quotes for the purchase of CCTV and surveillance equipment.

4)      Introduce planned campaign to the Neighbourhood Watch, the Municipality and the local Police - get their endorsement and support.

 

“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and raise up the age old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets With Dwellings.” Isaiah 58:12.

 

For further tips on cleaning up your community see:

Cleaning Up Your Community of Pornographic Magazines, DVDs and Tabloid Newspapers

How To Complain About Offensive Advertising

You Can Start an Action Group

 

To be informed and involved obtain the Christian Action Starter Pack, Make a Difference - a Christian Action Handbook for Southern Africa or Christian Action Audio CD Boxset from Christian Liberty Books: admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za, tel/fax: 021 - 689 7478.

• Clause 1.2 of Section 1 – Responsibility to the consumer
• Clause 1 of Section 2 – Offensive advertising
• Clause 3.5 of Section 2 – States that gender stereotyping or negative portrayal is not permitted unless reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society.
• Clause 14 of Section 2 – Children
• Section 4.19 of Section1 defines gender stereotyping as “advertising that portrays a person or persons of a certain gender in a manner that exploits, objectifies or demeans”.

We need to keep speaking up for family values and complaining against offensive adverts even if the ASA repeatedly rules in favour of the advertisers. If the ASA receives hundreds of complaints every month, they will start taking notice. Through persistent prayer and pressure we will make a difference (Luke 18:1-8).

PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM INTERNET AND CELL PHONE PORN

A relatively new pervasive outbreak of the “pornography plague” has come to your personal mobile phone, the most worrying aspect being that your child can create, access, or be sent, porn on his or her phone - without you knowing about it.

The Saturday Argus (5 November 2005) reported in a headline story “KIDS IN PHONE PORN SHOCK” that “young children accessing hard-core porn via cell phones and the Internet have escalated to such an extent that the child protection organisation Childline, is taking emergency steps to deal with the problem.” The report went on to say, “Childline staff were alarmed that children are increasingly emulating sex acts, such as oral sex, because of their exposure to porn.”

It must be remembered that it is a criminal offence to distribute XX (these would include images of women being abused and raped) and X18 material (material is classified as X18 if there are close-up shots of the genital area). XX materials may be possessed privately but may not be distributed. X18 materials may only be sold at a licensed sex shop. It is also a criminal offence to expose a child (anyone under the age of 18) to pornography. These offences should be reported to the police and to the Film and Publications Board: fpbmedia@fpb.gov.za or fax: 011 – 483 1084, Tel: 011- 483 0971.

There are 4 ways that porn is accessible via a cell phone. The first method is through a phone’s Internet server (GPRS, 3G, HPSDA enabled). The user would do a purposeful search or website address entry. As on computers you can also unwillingly receive pornographic spam emails. Here the same principles would apply to protecting yourself and your children from Internet porn. Consider only purchasing phones WITHOUT an Internet connection. Visit the following sites for more spam and filter info www.filterreview.com and www.internetsafe.org. Accountability services can be downloaded from www.xxxchurch.com and www.covenanteyes.com.

The second method is by receiving pornographic images/film clips or texts through MMS/SMS. The user requests these SMSes by SMSing a number advertised on TV or in a magazine. Adverts for such SMSes are sometimes broadcast during the late hours of weekends. After many complaints from Christians, e-TV agreed to only broadcast these ads after eleven o’ clock at night and before 6:00am. If you see these adverts on TV at any other time of day, complain to the Advertising Standards Authority. SMS Porn can also be accessed through links in spam SMSes and malicious JAVA applications. Vodacom has produced a Guide to Parental Control of Cell Phones available on www.waspa.org.za.

The Wireless Application Service Provider was formed by South Africa’s trio of cell phone operators (Vodacom, MTN, and Cell-C), to govern the code of conduct of cell-phone networks and to protect against bad practices. According to the Film and Publications Board, porn SMSes or Mmses are deemed “films” by the Film and Publications Act and therefore must be submitted to the FPB for classification. It is therefore illegal for e-TV to advertise such SMS pornographers, since they have not submitted their content to the FPB.All adult content clients (SMS porn senders) need to be members of WASPA and need to abide by their code. If you or your child are receiving pornographic SMSes, report to WASPA (fax: 086 606 2016 or send an online complaint at: www.waspa.org.za) and insist on feedback. SMSWEB has created a service where they will block SMS porn from a phone. SMS BLOCK and the cell phone number to 41333 or call 086 176 7932 for more information. The service costs R25 per year. See www.smsweb.co.za.

The third method is when individuals create porn images or video clips of themselves and send it to their friends or any cell numbers they posses. This has been dubbed ‘sexting’. These may be used by immoral people for dares, blackmail, revenge or perverted thrills. This is becoming an increasing phenomenon in some high schools where teenagers have reportedly filmed other teenagers having sex or posing naked and then have sent or shown the clip around the school. Producing pornography of anyone under the age of 18 is considered child porn and is a criminal offence. The only way parents can deal with this type of porn is to make their children aware of it and insist that they refuse to have any part in the viewing or production of such immoral practices.

The fourth method again is similar to Internet porn. Paedophiles can interact with children via chat rooms or chat services such as MXit, Facebook or MSN. Children should be warned against arranging meetings with strangers or sending photos of themselves to strangers. A Parent’s Guide to MXIT can be found at http://netucation.co.za/downloads/mxit/. Also see: http://www.wiredsafety.org/ for more information on internet safety. Parents need to be aware of what functions their children have on their phones and what sites they are accessing.

MORE TIPS FOR PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY ONLINE

• Keep the computer in a family room where Internet activity can be monitored.
• Limit the amount of time they may spend online. Monitor your child’s time and sites visited on the Internet, just as you should their time watching and choices of television programmes.
• Learn more about the Internet and how it works. A short and simple guide such as Internet: Parental Control by Jan Howells and John Watson, published by Dorling Kindersley: Great Britain, 2000, will help.
• Place a good filter on your computer that can prevent them accessing or stumbling on, porn sites by mistake. There are many unsuitable sites, including some that promote drugs and cults etc. There are many kinds of filters that work in different ways. Visit www.filterreview.com operated by the U.S. National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families for more information.
• Internet Explorer also offers ways to censor sites that feature pornography. Click on “Start”, go to “Control Panel”. Click on “Internet Options” and click on the “Content” tab. In “Content Advisor”, click on “Enable”. Click on the “Ratings” tab. This will give you options such as “Nudity” or “Sex” where you can choose the different levels allowed to be viewed on your computer. The “Approved Sites” tab allows you to list websites that will be blocked on your computer.
• Introduce your children to Christian websites and sites especially set up for children.
• Many search engines such as www.google.com offer filtering options. Children should use a search engine designed for minors such as www.yahooligans.com.
• Check up regularly on the sites that have been visited on the computer. Click on History in your web browser (Internet Explorer).
• Children must never give out their personal details on line.
• They must not order anything online without your permission, or accept offers for presents, money or free offers.
• Ask children to talk to a parent if they see anything on line that they don’t like, or think might be wrong.
• Find out what safeguards are used at your child's school, the public library and at the homes of your child's friends. These are all places outside your supervision where a child can encounter an online predator.
• Know your children's online ‘friends’.
• Instruct your child NEVER to arrange face-to-face meetings with someone they ‘met’ online and not to respond to messages or bulletin board postings that are suggestive, obscene, belligerent or harassing.
• Inform schools or other parents if you hear about children accessing porn on their computers or cell phones. Remember that allowing children to view porn is a form of child abuse.