Child pornography a major concern for SA

INTERNET child pornography involving mostly girls is becoming a major concern in South Africa.

Goodness Zulu, head of the Film and Publication Board’s child protection unit, told the media that in one such incidence of moral decadence, girls aged between nine and 13-years had recently appeared on pornographic clips dated November this year.

“About two weeks ago we received a tip-off from a member of the public on our anti-pornography website. We reported the matter to the police and when we checked a few days later the website had already been shut down,” she said.

Zulu said the trend was bound to increase during the festive season, as most children will be on holiday and will have more time to spare and might therefore turn to the internet.

“Our children are very vulnerable. Some are orphans, but they still would like to have a cellphone. During the festive season children use the internet and their cellphones more often. This is the time that paedophiles are looking for children, and they use online chat-rooms and MXit to get to them,” Zulu said.

She said it was crucial that the problem of child pornography was attended to urgently in view of the 2010 FIFA World Cup that South Africa will host, and will inevitably put the country under the spotlight.