By Natasha Prince
Explicit pornographic footage of teenagers distributed on cellphones has sparked an outcry from government and NGOs.
The craze has spread to a number of city schools where the video clips are reportedly widely available and has now forced education authorities, police and child rights organisations to intervene.
Childline's national director Joan van Niekerk said they were "concerned about the situation".
She said a number of schools had asked them to intervene because, due to the nature of the problem, teachers often did not want to deal with it.
"Children are curious about sex and indulge in their curiosity. But what these children need to understand is that they are creating child pornography and they are distributing child pornography," said Van Niekerk.
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She said many children were not aware that they could be charged in a court of law for their actions.
"There needs to be a nationwide push to educate and provide information to make them realise that when they indulge it is illegal and measures can be implemented which would lead to prosecution."
She said the children were not considering the consequences of their actions and that they needed to be educated on issues of sex and in responsible behaviour.
She said children should get family support and that children needed to be called upon to reconsider decisions that could harm themselves and those they were filming.
Police spokesperson Captain Elliot Sinyangana confirmed that police have opened an inquiry file.
"At this stage the investigation is ongoing but no criminal case is registered at the moment," said Sinyangana.
Gert Witbooi of the Western Cape education department said the schools directorate, in association with the district offices, was working to identify the affected schools.
Witbooi said they had been informed these videos were made at schools and that they had already identified a school in Elsies River where the videos were circulating.
Witbooi said the department planned to keep in touch with principals from the affected schools to find ways to deal with the problem.
"Good morals and sound values start in the family environment."
Meanwhile major shopping malls have denied claims that some of the sex videos were made on their premises as had been widely rumoured.
The centre management for Cavendish Square in Claremont said the allegations by teenagers that they have sex in toilets at the mall are "without foundation".
The statement released by the centre's Brenda Bibby said: "My attention was drawn to a video clip of two couples engaging in sexual activities in a bathroom cubicle, purportedly at Cavendish Square.
"We have thoroughly investigated the claim that this incident was filmed in our centre and can categorically state that this is not true. We are distressed that the reputation of Cavendish Square should be unfairly sullied by this false claim."
- This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Argus on September 06, 2007
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