Skip to content
  • Common Currency
  • Campaigns
    • PENWrites
    • Writers at Risk
    • Writers in Residence
    • Free speech in the UK
  • News
  • Events
  • Translation
    • PEN Translates
    • PEN Presents
    • PEN Transmissions
    • International Translation Day
    • The World Bookshelf
      • Books
      • Authors
      • Translators
  • Prizes
    • PEN Pinter Prize
    • PEN Ackerley Prize
    • PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize
  • Donate
  • Join
Home > Campaigns > Should offending be an offence?

Should offending be an offence?

Should offence ever be grounds for censorship? Some of the laws that regulate speech in the UK set a very low threshold for tolerating words that may distress or shock. Last year, prosecutions for offensive comments on social media resulted in jail sentences, despite Keir Starmer, former director of public prosecutions, offering guidance that such cases should very rarely reach court. We are, as a society, very confused about where to draw the line.

So when David Cameron joined the phalanx of statesman standing up for free speech, following the horrifying murders in Paris earlier this month, his public support for freedom of expression struck some advocates as a little hypocritical. This is a government that is introducing counter-terrorism legislation that threatens academic freedoms, and has rushed through emergency laws that will give intelligence agencies further powers to harvest our data without effective oversight, which should chill any of us who wish to share confidential information online.

It is writers and publishers who have the most power and licence to challenge any restraint on expression. They have, after all, been pushing the boundaries for more than 50 years, from the famous obscenity trials of the 1960s and ‘70s to “Jerry Springer: the Opera”, which prompted protests from Christian groups. The prohibition on representing Mohammed or satirising Islam has been the grounds for threats to publishers and writers now for a generation, resurfacing in occasional shocking attacks and murders ever since the publication of The Satanic Verses. It will be brave and principled writers and publishers who continue to publish books that may risk any violence: Random House US withdrew from publishing a novel about Mohammed’s wife seven years ago; the British publisher’s home was firebombed.

What we need now is solidarity, some of which was demonstrated by the mass publication of Charlie Hebdo cartoons (in which English PEN participated), and when a group of publishers came together to anonymously publish The Satanic Verses in paperback 23 years ago. If we, as a community of writers, journalists, publishers and advocates, defy censorship together, then we may even change the culture.

First published in The Bookseller

Join our mailing list

Sign up to receive the latest English PEN news and events.

SIGN UP
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Partners
  • Outreach
  • Jobs
  • Contact us

With thanks to our Core Funders

©1921 - 2020

English PEN is a company limited by guarantee number 5747142 (England & Wales) and a registered charity, number 1125610.

We use cookies to help us improve your experience on our website. By closing this notification or interacting with the website you agree to our use of cookies. ACCEPT Find out more
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT