CAPE TOWN, South Africa, May 4 /
Christian Newswire/ -- Africa Christian Action and other pro-family groups plan to protest against the Sexpo on 15 May 2009 from 12:00 - 14:00, outside the entrance to the Cape Town International Convention Centre (Coen Steytler Street, close to entrance to the Waterfront). The Sexpo showcases perverse "sex toys," "pole dancing" and pornography.
A key part of this protest will be to pray that this Expo will be a financial flop and that customers will see the emptiness of this so-called "entertainment". We will be reminding customers that porn degrades, objectifies and exploits women and that women are precious and should be protected. We will also be evangelising the customers of the Expo. We will provide placards and pro-family, Gospel tracts, but please also bring your own appropriate ones, if you wish.
The Consultation of Christian Churches issued the following statement last year: "We are unhappy that a venue being used for this awful event is a place in which the City of Cape Town has a partnership, indicating that there is overt support for an event of this sort by the political leadership of the City. Our unhappiness is based on a number of factors.
First, such events are extremely degrading towards women and perpetuate a negative and destructive stereotype of women as sexual objects which, in some cases leads to an increase in the abuse of, and sexual violence against, women – a problem that has reached alarming proportions in our city. Also, we are extremely unhappy about the fact that even though there is an advertised age restriction for admission to this grotesque distortion of true sexuality, there were reports of young children being admitted to the event when it was held in Johannesburg. Accordingly, we are concerned about the exposure of children to the material that will be on show during the event. Added to this concern about our children is our unhappiness with the billboards that have been placed - illegally, we believe - at certain key points around our city. These billboards have been seen by young children despite their sexually explicit content. As a consequence, young children have been inappropriately exposed to illicit material.
Second, events like the one to be hosted in our city are highly disruptive towards stable home and family life. As Christians we believe that sex is a gift of God and meant to be expressed within the confines of marriage. Similar events that have taken place in other cities such as Joburg have been nothing more than a celebration of perversion, lewdness and lasciviousness and are extremely disruptive of healthy family relationships."
Letters have been sent to the Film and Publications Board requesting that the Sexpo's "Adult Business" licence be revoked as two church services are held in the CTICC on Sundays. The CTICC is also in close proximity to a church building. This is in contravention of the Film and Publications Act.
We are also calling on church leaders, fraternal co-ordinators, local pastors and ministers to mobilise their members to pray that this event will be cancelled and to mobilise their congregations to join us at the outreach on 15 May.
"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Ephesians 5:11
Last year, the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that the offensive Sexpo adverts placed around Durban had to be removed as the advert "reinforces a stereotype that women, especially provocatively dressed women, primarily serve as 'eye-candy' and should only be regarded as valuable for their sexual potential" and that "the only area of her body focussed on effectively reduces her to a sexual object." The Cape Town Sexpo billboards (while containing a different image) are similarly lewd and offensive.
Send your complaints to: The Advertising Standards Authority:
complaint@asasa.org.za, or fax: 011-781 1616. Please include your name, ID number and contact details.
