Independent complaints authority reprimands SRF

The Independent Complaints Authority for Radio and Television UBI has upheld a complaint against a humorous contribution broadcast by SRF television as part of its coverage of the Football World Cup.

A sequence in which the editorial team referred to women's breasts with a play on words and images of a female football fan violated the prohibition of discrimination under broadcasting law.

SRF television reported extensively on the Football World Cup, which took place in various Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, 2018, with numerous broadcasts of matches and special programs. Following the round of 16 final match between Argentina and France on June 30, 2018, SRF television broadcast a humorous review of the completed group phase with the first 48 matches at around 6 pm. A woman lodged a popular complaint against this and criticized the sequence "Tears, goals, defending champions' frustration". In it, a woman in a red T-shirt was shown jumping for joy with the comment "Tiiii - defending champion frustration" to her bouncing breasts.

This constituted discrimination against women, as they had been degraded to their secondary sexual characteristics. In the controversial discussion, a majority of the commission considered the complaint to be well-founded. The sexist content was an end in itself and thus discriminated against women. The fact that the sequence was only short and the word "tits" was not used does not change this. A minority of the UBI, on the other hand, found that the objectionable sequence in a humorous contribution was primarily a question of style or taste, which is not for the UBI to judge.

In the vote, the UBI narrowly approved the complaint by five votes to four on the grounds that it violated the prohibition of discrimination under broadcasting law. However, the members agreed that the contribution was neither immoral nor did it violate the protection of minors under broadcasting law. The documentary "Welcome to Switzerland", which was broadcast by SRF television as part of the "CH-Filmszene" program on 17 August 2018, was also the subject of today's public deliberations at the UBI.

The film focused on the events in the Aargau municipality of Oberwil-Lieli, which had become known throughout the country because it refused to accept asylum seekers allocated by the canton. Contrary to the opinion expressed in the popular complaint lodged against it, the UBI came to the conclusion that the events were presented in an appropriate manner. The key facts about the events in question were correct and the protagonists were given ample opportunity to speak. The UBI therefore unanimously rejected the complaint.

The UBI also judged a contribution by the consumer magazine "A Bon Entendeur" from Radio Télévision Suisse on the dangers of water sports to be appropriate. The complaints about the instructor shown in the report only concerned program law to a limited extent. The UBI also unanimously rejected this complaint.

The UBI is an extra-parliamentary federal commission that has been chaired by lawyer and communications consultant Mascha Santschi Kallay since January 1, 2019. In response to complaints, the UBI must determine whether radio and television broadcasts by Swiss broadcasters or publications from the SRG's other journalistic offerings have violated provisions of radio and television law or whether there has been an unlawful refusal of access to a program or publication. Decisions of the UBI can be appealed to the Federal Supreme Court once the written reasons for the decision have been submitted.