Talkback radio is a powerful medium.
In Australia, the prominence of radio talkback within political and media circles has led to it being regarded as a barometer of public opinion (Ward, 2002). The talkback programs that attract the largest media and political interest are those from commercial radio stations, broadcasting to state and national audiences, where the host and callers provide outspoken opinions and debate on political and social issues of the day. One infamous forerunner is 3AW Melbourne shock jock Derryn Hinch.
Unfortunately for Hinch his fearless opinions have landed him in hot water. The media machine who has bowed to few rules for almost half a century faces an uncertain future in gaol for 'naming and shaming' two pedophiles on his website and at a Victorian crime rally in 2008. After taking his case all the way to the High Court, Hinch has been found guilty for breaching four suppression orders and faces a possible custodial sentence. For Hinch, however, it's a case of 'old habits die hard' having spent 12 days in gaol in 1987 for publicly naming a pedophile priest on trial for child sex offences.
Hinch's argument is simple:
"People know you should have the right to know if some of the worst sex offenders in this country's history are living in your neighbourhood, living next door to you."
Is this a fair statement though?
In Australia one of the fundamental tenets of our criminal justice system is the rule of law and the protection of individual rights under the law. Therefore is it unjust and hypocritical to deny these same rights to those who are yet to be convicted of their alleged crimes and those who have served their sentences?
A perfect illustration is that of Dennis Ferguson who subsequent to his release has been forced to relocate numerous times across several states due to public threats. I recently watched a BBC documentary by Louis Theroux called 'A Place for Paedophiles'. In it Theroux interviewed employees and inmates at Coalinga State Hospital in California, a maximum security civil-commitment facility built to contain pedophiles after their release from prison. Although their time at Coalinga is non-court sanctioned, and treatment was optional, in-mates are only released when they are deemed no longer a threat to society, which in most cases is never.
Although such a system does not exist in Australia currently, it is undeniable that pedophiles face a stigmatised and marginalised post-prison life. Not only are all child sex offenders registered many are restricted as to where they can live by both law and public pressure. Personally, i do not condone the crimes what pedophiles have committed. I think they are despicable and morally repulsive and the hurt and irreparable damage that their victims experience. I am also aware of the real possibility of recidivism and the danger this places upon communities and society as a whole.
However, i cannot dismiss the inherent incongruity our desire for equality under the law on one hand and our willingness to restrict the rights of some on the other. Perhaps we need to get off our moral high-ground and ask the question: Have we gone too far?
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Ward, Ian (2002) "Talkback radio, political communication, and Australian politics,"
Australian Journal of Communication. Vol. 29 21-38.
Great post.
ReplyDeleteAlyce