4A Protecting Under 18s and Harm and Offence : Sex & Nudity
The inclusion of nudity, sexual behaviour, sexual imagery and references to sex should be editorially justified and defensible by the context in which they appear.
Before The Watershed
- Visual and verbal references to sex and matters related to sex should be editorially justified and appropriately limited and inexplicit.
- Representations of sexual intercourse must not be shown unless there is "... a serious educational purpose". This means the actual act of sexual intercourse, both real and where it's portrayed i.e. acted, as opposed to other sexual behaviour.
- The inclusion of nudity and all references to sexual acts, verbal and visual, must be justifiable by the context. What is acceptable in a mid-afternoon, discussion programme aimed at adult women may well not be suitable for inclusion in a Saturday morning magazine show, which attracts large numbers of children. In addition, the way in which material is presented i.e. serious, flippant, crude etc. is likely to be a major factor in determining whether it is suitable or not.
It is most unlikely that any graphic sexual images or any explicit descriptions of sexual activity will be acceptable in pre-watershed programmes unless the programme has a serious educational purpose and, even then, any such material would require very careful thought and care.
So whilst, for example, showing inexplicit acts of foreplay e.g. kissing, is unlikely to be problematic in most pre-watershed programming, more overtly sexual activities e.g. foreplay involving genitalia or showing nudity, oral sex, masturbation, intercourse etc. is very unlikely to be suitable for a family audience. Even if the sexual activity is happening off camera and so out of view to the audience, it may still be too suggestive for transmission before 9pm, if it is clear what is happening.
Before the watershed, verbal references to sexual activity should be kept relatively inexplicit. Mild innuendo and oblique references to sex are more likely to be acceptable than comments or descriptions that leave little to the imagination or are merely crude.
Nudity in a sexual context is unlikely to be acceptable before the watershed unless strictly limited, whereas nudity in the context of an item about health or education e.g. a beauty treatment or medical examination, is less likely to exceed viewers' expectations, for obvious reasons, although a flagging should be considered.
Full frontal nudity (both male and female), even in a non-sexual context, is unlikely to be acceptable before the watershed, unless there is a serious educational reason for showing it. Less explicit nudity, however, e.g. above waist nudity, catching a brief glimpse of someone from behind getting out of the shower, naturism, topless sunbathing etc. is unlikely to be problematic as long as it is editorially justified.
After the Watershed
- The inclusion of nudity and all references to sexual acts, verbal and visual, must be justifiable by the context.
After the watershed, it may be possible to justify the broadcast of explicit nudity and scenes of an explicit sexual nature, with the most explicit material being transmitted later in the schedule i.e. well after the watershed. Again, viewers' expectations will be determined largely by the context in which the material appears and whether they have been properly forewarned.
However, even the most explicit material on terrestrial channels like Channel 4 and Five will not be as graphic or explicit as that which can legitimately be seen on video (particularly material classified by the BBFC as ‘R18'), on specialist PIN-encrypted television channels and at adult cinemas, because of the different make-up and expectations of their respective audiences.
Again, nudity after the watershed depends heavily on context. The vast majority of viewers, for example, do not object to seeing even the most explicit nudity e.g. close-ups of male and female genitalia, in the context of medical procedures such as cosmetic surgery, as long as it's shown well after the watershed and they are properly forewarned. However, the same shots might not be acceptable if presented in a sexual context.
Blurring or pixelation, both before and after the watershed, is one way in which otherwise unacceptably graphic and explicit material may be rendered acceptable. However, there may be circumstances where, even following pixelation, scenes remain too suggestive
or graphic.
When considering the suitability of sexual material in a particular context, no distinction is made based on sexual orientation i.e. the considerations when deciding whether sexual material is suitable in any particular programme, at any particular time of day, are the same regardless of whether the sex is homosexual or heterosexual.
Sexual violence in programmes, as noted above, requires special care. See 'Sexual Violence ' earlier in this chapter.
'Sex & Children'
Sex between adults and children is illegal. Any depiction of such activity e.g. in a dramatic context or where real images are being obscured would require strong editorial justification and extremely careful handling.
The Protection of Children Act 1978 (as subsequently amended) makes it a criminal offence to take or show an indecent photograph (which includes filming for television) of a minor under the age of 18 and even to involve a minor in a photograph or television image that is itself indecent, even where the child's role in it is not e.g. to have a child present or to broadcast an image where a child's picture had been superimposed onto a pornographic image would be an offence. This also means that in drama, any actors that are required to be filmed in scenes of an explicit sexual nature must be at least 18 years old, regardless of the age of the character they are playing. If in any doubt about an actor's age, producers must seek confirmation e.g. request to see his/her passport and take a copy to be held on file.
If your programme concerns children who are the victims of sexual offences this can raise difficult issues. Programme-makers who are intending filming or incorporating into their programme any sexually explicit material, particularly if it involves people under 18, should consult with their commissioning editor and assigned programme lawyer at an early stage and certainly before any filming takes place or before any such material is acquired or accessed to ensure that it complies with UK law and will be transmittable.
[See 'Programmes Involving Under 18s' Checklist at chapter 6.]