South Africa is urged to adopt 'child sexual abuse material' as the standard term, as advocacy groups highlight the importance of accurate terminology in addressing child exploitation.
Image: File picture: IOL
While there have been recent calls made to drop the term “child pornography” and instead use the global standard of “child sexual abuse material”, the Department of Justice is already planning to tackle that very matter.
The arrest and court appearance of Darren Wilken and Tiona Moodley, who was found with more than 10 million videos and images of child sexual abuse material, large sums of cash and drugs once again reignited the spotlight on the matter, and also brought up the conversation surrounding the change of terminology.
Advocacy group, Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA), protested outside the court where advocacy manager, Luke Lamprecht, said that they launched a campaign called “Stop Calling it Child Pornography”.
“We must stop calling this ‘child pornography’ — that term minimises the horror. This is not about children being sexualised; it is about them being brutalised.
“WMACA Advocacy underscores the urgent need to challenge the terminology used in public discourse, particularly the use of ‘child pornography’, which trivialises the gravity of these crimes. Pornography implies consent; children cannot consent to such sexualised acts.
“Describing these non-consensual sexualised images as ‘pornography’ normalises the eroticisation of children and misrepresents the reality of sexual abuse, rape, and exploitation,“ he said.
Action Society spokesperson, Juanita du Preez, said that they completely support the campaign of WMACA.
“It has become such a widely used term that people often don't realise exactly what they are saying. Pornography refers to the depiction of erotic behaviour in material such as books, magazines, photographs or videos intended to cause sexual excitement. When children are used in this material, it is not consensual, nor should it evoke any sexual excitement.
“Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) is already the internationally accepted legal and advocacy term. We urge the government, organisations working with child sex crimes and the media to stop using the term child pornography to, in turn, educate and influence the public to adopt the term child sexual abuse material instead,” Du Preez said.
Darren Wilken and his girlfriend Tiona Moodley appear at the Randburg magistrate court on Monday.
Image: Itumeleng English/ Independent Newspapers
In a recent eNCA interview the Director and Clinical director of the Teddy Bear Foundation, Dr Shajeda Omar spoke to this issue, saying that using the word pornography neutralises the severity of the impact on the survivors, and “it adds an element of grandiosity that actually does not speak to the victim” and that the term pornography it speaks to a consenting sexual relationship.
“We know that children cannot be consenting and as we see, and interrogate, we are finding that it is such a lucrative industry, and a very organised crime syndicate that works at a very sophisticated level. Unfortunately we are finding that more and more children are falling prey to this heinous crime - child sexual abuse material - and being victimised and suffering along their journey.
“Their trajectory, and the impact that it has on their emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing is something that one cannot even begin to understand because of the complexity of the situation,” Omar said.
The conversation surrounding the change of terminology from “child porn” to sexual abuse material is not a new one as it dates back to the international standards by International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) and the Interagency Working Group in Luxembourg document from 2016.
Interpol has encouraged the use of appropriate terminology to avoid trivialising the sexual abuse and the exploitation of children.
“Terms such as 'kiddy porn' and 'child porn' are also used by criminals and should not be legitimate language used by law enforcement, judiciary, the public or media,” Interpol states.
“We call on the global law enforcement community to contribute to a cultural change by being precise in the way that such crimes are described.”
The Interpol website explains that the Terminology Guidelines for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, also known as the Luxembourg Guidelines, offer clear guidance on how to navigate the complex lexicon of terms commonly used when addressing the exploitation and sexual abuse of children.
The Luxembourg Guidelines were developed by a group of 18 international partners.
The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC), an entity established by the South African Law Reform Commission Act 19 of 1973, had already suggested this change back in 2022.
As evidenced by their report, “Project 107, Sexual Offences: Pornography and Children” which was sent from then-SALRC chairperson, Judge Jody Kollapen, to Minister for Justice and Correctional Services at the time, Ronald Lamola.
This report sought to address some of the gaps in the manner in which the law regulates and protects children from being exposed to pornography or from being used to create child sexual abuse material.
The report mentions:
6.1 “Child pornography” or “child sexual abuse material”
The Commission recommends that the term “child pornography” be substituted with the term “child sexual abuse material” in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 (the Sexual Offences Act) and in related legislation.
This recommendation accords with the international recognition of this term. In line with this recommendation the revised terminology is used consistently throughout this report, unless the term ‘child pornography’ is referred to in a specific context, such as a quotation.
6.2 Revision of the Sexual Offences Act definition of “child pornography” (child sexual abuse material)
The Commission is of the view that for the purposes of this investigation a child should continue to be defined as a person under the age of 18 and not be revised downward to align with the age of sexual consent. The Commission recommends the revision of the definition of “child pornography” in the Sexual Offences Act to include live displays, sequences of images and any of the listed conduct that could be used to advocate, advertise or promote a child for sexual purposes.
In line with this amendment the Commission recommends the repeal of the definition of “child pornography” in the Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996 (the Films and Publications Act) and the substitution thereof by reference to the proposed definition of “child sexual abuse material” in the Sexual Offences Act.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development spokesperson Kgalalelo Masibi said that the department is in broad agreement with the change of terminology, as proposed by the SALRC, which conducted extensive research into the matter, and consulted broadly on its recommendations.
Masibi said that the matter is currently receiving attention from the department, and that draft legislation is being prepared for submission into the 2026 Legislative Programme.
“(What comes next is) preparation of the draft Bill, and consultation with key stakeholders on the draft Bill. Thereafter, publication of the draft Bill for public comments, where the Bill will be revised in accordance with comments, if required.
“Thereafter, approval sought for introduction of the Bill,” Masibi said.
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za
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