The SABC has held a televised debate following an interview with the mother of convicted child rapist Nicholas Ninow that sparked widespread criticism from the public.
In the interview in which Ninow’s mother, Chantal Ninow, gave an emotional apology for what she says was her son’s mistake, she also said her son is not a rapist.
CEO of the Soul City Institute Lebo Ramofoka has expressed anger at the interview, labeling it as “white privilege and white tears”.
Watch the full panel discussion below:
‘Story could have been done better’
Media Monitoring Africa’s Thandi Smith says while issues of rape and race are tricky to report, she says the story could have been done better.
“We don’t often unpack why men rape. I see elements of that trying to come out in the story but it could have been done in a far better way. There’s no set textbook, this is exactly how you do it. You look at any kind of reporting on war, conflict trauma, disaster, the way that black bodies and blackness is represented is very different to the way that whiteness is represented. We have seen the impact of those trends and behaviour filter into this story.”
‘Incident can trigger emotional trauma’
Doctor Shaheda Omar from the Teddy Bear Clinic says the SABC has failed to protect the victim of rape in the case of Nicholas Ninow. Omar says any thing related to the incident can trigger emotional trauma to the victim.
“Any victim, especially victims of this kind of trauma, sexual violence and rape in particular, the triggers could be anything that might have the slightest resemblance, even in the future. Years after when she’s 27, certainly seeing this and maybe not even looking at the full clip, but just saying that ‘he was not a rapist’ would trigger a state of total emotional collapse. The broadcasting station has failed her.”
Several complaints have been lodged with the Broadcasting Complaints Commission.
