Using children as human shields (from criticism)

Australians are in a flap once again over the exploitation of children. This time, acclaimed photographer Bill Henson is back in the news. Henson was the centre of public attention earlier in the year when police raided a Sydney art gallery after claims that his photographs of nude adolescents amounted to child pornography.

Australia’s arts luminaries, among them Cate Blanchett, rushed to Henson’s defence; ordinary Australians were given to muttering things like “if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck…”. The charges were later dropped and Henson faded into relative obscurity. Unwisely, he told a journalist how he was given permission to cruise a primary school playground in search of models, which is why he is back in the news.

Henson’s photographs raise vexing questions about where to draw the line between legitimate artistic expression and cynical exploitation. Can a middle aged man ever photograph a naked 12 year old girl – one who he found, moreover while lurking amongst the shrubbery at the local school – and not place both of them in a compromising situation?

A couple of letters to various newspapers have pointed out that, amidst the public indignation over Henson, there is no protection from from politicians like Kevin Rudd, who tend to sidle up to them in public places and ruffle their hair whenever there is a need to soften public opinion.

Using children is a standard tactic of politicians and other dubious public figures in Australia. The latest to engage in the use of children as human shields is rugby league player Greg Bird, who showed up at a court appearance with his toddler brother in tow. Bird is under a cloud after smashing a glass in the face of his American girlfriend, who has since forgiven him; the charges against him may be downgraded, saving his sports career.

Bird’s cynical use of his brother follows in the wake of the disgraced Police Minister Matt Brown, who paraded his niece Ruby to counteract reports of drunken partying in underpants and dry-humping older female MPs. Morris Iemma, Michael Costa and Frank Sartor were all highly unpopular victims in the NSW Labor purge of a month ago and all of them have posed with their wives and children.

The Sydney Morning Herald traced the phenomenon back to 2003:

Australian Democrats leader (but not for long) Andrew Bartlett hid behind daughter Lillith to explain to journalists why he stole wine, manhandled a South Australian Liberal senator, the late Jeannie Ferris, and then swore at her.

One wonders why South African politicians don’t make more use of children as human shields. Is it perhaps meaningless in a land where you can be a member of the national political kindergarten, otherwise known as the ANC Youth League, at the age of 35? Or do politicians not require the protection of innocent children, because they already possess the most powerful protection of all – the race card?

In any event, let us hope that this sort of thing does not start in Mzansi. Let South Africa’s children be safe from politicians.