"Contains sexual violence"
Article by Bill Hastings, Chief Censor
18.07.2006
The Classification Office will often note the general content of a film, video, DVD or computer game on the label showing the publication’s classification or rating. This descriptive note will say something like "contains violence" or "contains offensive language". These notes are intended to help consumers make informed choices about the sort of film they want to view.
Occasionally the Classification Office will issue a label informing consumers that a film "contains sexual violence". From the Office’s inception in 1994 until 30 June 2002, this has happened 34 times.
The law requires the Office to ban any publication that promotes, supports, or tends to promote or support, "the use of violence or coercion to compel any person to participate in, or submit to, sexual conduct". The Office may ban, restrict, or classify as unrestricted, any publication which simply depicts sexual violence, depending on the extent and degree to which, and the manner in which, the sexual violence is depicted. Parliament has made a clear distinction been publications that "promote" and those that merely "depict".
Since the Office’s inception, 176 publications have been banned for promoting sexual violence, and the owners of another 44 have consented to excisions to remove segments which promote sexual violence. The Office has banned another 41 publications because of the extent and degree to which, and the manner in which, they depicted sexual violence. The owners of a further 64 publications agreed to excisions because of the extent and degree to which, and the manner in which, the removed segments depicted sexual violence. These figures show that the Office has banned 217 publications and cut another 108 for sexual violence, compared with issuing 34 descriptive notes with the words "contains sexual violence". Most of the banned publications were submitted by enforcement agencies and the courts.(1)
A label that has the words "contains sexual violence" on it represents therefore the Office’s view that the publication does not promote, support, or even tend to promote or support, sexual violence. There will be a depiction or description of sexual violence in the publication, but in the Office’s view no reasonable person will be able to read the publication as promoting or supporting sexual violence. Indeed, many of these publications convey a message that such violence is ugly and revolting.
This label has recently been applied to a number of high profile Hollywood productions such as the film Boys Don’t Cry for which Hilary Swank won the Best Actress Academy Award in 2000 for playing Brandon Teena. It has also been applied to The Debt Collector (with Billy Connolly and Francesca Annis), Hollow Man starring Kevin Bacon, Joan of Arc starring Milla Jovovich, The General’s Daughter with John Travolta and 8MM starring Nicholas Cage. The films Bully, The Piano Teacher and Baise-Moi, all the subjects of recent media controversy, also had "contains sexual violence" descriptive notes.
The Classification Office is aware that the use of this note could attract some people to a film for the wrong reasons. Not to use the note however could result in consumers viewing a film they would rather not have seen. Several years ago, the Office received complaints from sexual violence survivors that they had not been warned in advance that a film contained scenes of sexual violence. The Classification Office decided that it is better to inform the public that a film depicts but does not promote sexual violence, even though this may have the unintended and undesirable effect of attracting some people, than not to use the note at all.
The legal system provides deterrents to stop people committing sexual violence, yet acts of sexual violence are still frequently committed. Ignoring or concealing the fact that sexual violence exists and can be depicted in a condemnatory manner helps no one. In a society that values the freedom of expression, the Classification Office endeavours to exercise its powers in a socially responsible manner to support sexual violence survivors and the wider public by banning publications that promote sexual violence and by accurately labelling films that contain it.
(1) These figures are based on a search of entries made by individual censors to the Office’s internal database since 1994. They must consequently be taken as approximate indications.