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e.TV defends sex ad

17 May 2018 at 16:10hrs | Views
Popular public independent broadcaster e.tv is once again involved in yet another sex escapade. The public broadcaster is being accused of not being considerate with issues that relate with sex especially towards the young audiences.

Most adult consumers of e.tv are castigating the broadcaster of showcasing the Durex RealFeel condoms advert which usually starts airing when the popular drama Scandal is being aired during prime time.  This is relatively the time when most families relax and watch television together.

For most of the adult viewers who are also parents they are arguing that the advert makes it very uncomfortable to watch with children present. As it somehow encourages the young kids to indulge in sex before they reach the age of consent.

However, e.tv said that the advert is in accordance with regulations of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) hence they are not breaching any code.

Regardless, the adult audiences are still castigating the public broadcaster for not only airing the advert at an inappropriate time but also because of the fact that the soap has an age restriction of 13  yet the advert is meant for older audiences.

With these sentiments being shared by most of the parents who watch the public broadcaster some of the parents are however, not seemingly moved by the advert as they are arguing that it is better for the young children to know about issues of sexuality at an early age so as to help equip them to be weary of Sexually Transmitted Infections and how they can be prevented.

Some of the parents who are also concurring with the airing of the advert have said that it is of vital importance for young children to know about contraceptives because most children below the age of consent are now sexually active with a couple even falling pregnant.

Although the age of consent is sixteen in South Africa a lot of children below the consensual age are sexually active and usually succumb to unwanted pregnancies.

A few years ago e-sat which is the proprietor of e.tv wanted to launch an adult channel which did not resonate well with most of the South Africans. Even the courts dismissed the launch of the channel. However, in this case in response to the claims made by the audiences the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASASA) said that a parent who allows their child to watch Scandal cannot be outraged when the child is exposed to sexual content or references. ASASA also indicated that kids should be watching dramas such as Scandal in the presence of an adult who is supposed to explain to them in the event that they get agitated by the themes or a commercial advert that will be aired during or within that program. Much is now yet to be seen whether e.tv will retract the advert since ASASA dismissed the accusation.



Source - Daniel Itai
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