The Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC) on Thursday asked non-news TV channels to exercise restraint in their portrayal of content related to crimes against women, children, and LGBTQ community members.
Issuing a detailed advisory on the depiction of gender-based violence in TV programs, the council asked channels to ensure that fictionalized scenes of violence against women, children, and people from the LGBTQ community are minimized, but the message is clear. That this type of violence is unacceptable and must be stopped.
The BCCC would like to re-emphasize that the channels should exercise due caution and precaution while writing the script, during the filming, and during the editing," the advisory said.
It said that TV channels should also ensure that any such depiction of violence on television should be accompanied by a message on screen in English, Hindi, and other regional languages that 'gender-based violence is a punishable offense. This channel neither supports nor advocates any form of gender-based violence and harassment of any kind.
"The BCCC calls for sensitivity when portraying such persons as victims of various forms of violence on television and expects the influence and reach of channel television to be used for constructive and remedial purposes," the council said in the advisory. do.
The BCCC's advisory comes at a time when the central government, two weeks ago, amended the cable television network rules with an aim to provide a statutory mechanism for redressal of complaints regarding content to be aired on television channels.
BCCC Chairperson Justice (Retd) Gita Mittal said, “It is an advisory to broadcasters to exercise restraint in portraying content related to crimes against women, children, and persons belonging to the LGBTQ community. Sexual and domestic violence is a matter of deep concern to society and should be dealt with with utmost seriousness.
Significantly, the Center had on June 17 amended the cable television network rules to provide for a three-tier statutory mechanism for redressal of complaints received regarding content to be broadcast by television channels. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2021 by publishing it in an official gazette (circular) on June 17.
The amended rules create a three-tier mechanism for grievance redressal - self-regulation by broadcasters, self-regulation by broadcasters' self-regulating bodies, and monitoring through the central government mechanism. In case of any problem with any program broadcast on the channels, the viewer can make a written complaint to the broadcaster in that regard.