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PRETORIA - There has been a marked increase in child pornography in South Africa over the past year, the police's family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit said yesterday.
Senior Superintendent Anneke Pienaar said that as yet it was impossible to determine the extent of the problem. She was speaking to reporters in Pretoria, where Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba announced amendments to the Film and Publications Act. Pienaar said the Act had proved inadequate in dealing with the increase in incidents of child pornography reported, making the amendments necessary. The amendments increased the minimum sentence on conviction from five to 10 years. Gigaba said the amendments, which were awaiting the president's signature, also included the right to arrest a South African suspected of dealing in or with child pornography anywhere in the world. "This means if the person is suspected of being involved in child pornography outside of South Africa, we can arrest him. It does away with the long-winded extradition process," he said. A nationwide campaign designed to highlight the problem of child pornography would be launched before the end of the year. Gigaba said the campaign would be run in conjunction with other government departments, NGOs and Internet service providers. "I have another meeting with Internet providers today and they seem very keen to help," Gigaba said. - Sapa
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