Gauteng - The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) says it continues to monitor adverts with racist undertones.
Representatives from the commission made submissions on Thursday during an inquiry held by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) into racial discrimination in the advertising sector.
CGE legal researcher colleague Dennis Mohlatlego Matotoka told the SAHRC that the commission looked out for advertisements that seemingly suppress human dignity.
He pointed out that despite their monitoring mechanisms, they still faced a challenge in offenders repeating the same conduct.
"(In such cases we) often would say, let us go and litigate and ensure that there is enforcement," he said.
Matotoka explained that although its core mandate deals with gender issues, the CGE also tends to complaints lodged by the public over matters relating to race.
He said one of the prominent cases the CGE had to deal with was the controversial TRESemmé advert flighted by Clicks on its website which described black women’s hair as "frizzy and dull" and "dry and damaged".
Early this week, anti-racism activist and former Pretoria High School for Girls pupil Zulaikha Patel told the SAHRC that those responsible for the controversial Clicks hair advert two years ago should be held accountable. She said that the advert was just one of the racial examples of hair that has always been used to discriminate against black people.
Meanwhile, CGE CEO Jamela Robertson told the commission that when it came to advertising, the issues of gender, race, disability and the LGBTQI community had to be considered.
"We put them in harm's way and we can see the symptoms when we look around in the country," she maintained.
This comes as members of the LGBTQI community spoke of stereotyping and exclusion by those in the advertising industry.
Political Bureau