CONTROVERSIAL strip club owner Lolly Jackson has denied that the R20000 he gave to Caster Semenya was guilt money.

Teazers spokesperson Sean Newman was defending his boss, Jackson, at a Gender Links conference in Johannesburg yesterday at the launch of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence.

Minister Noluthando Mayende-Sibiya of the women's desk in the Presidency, Kubi Rama, deputy director of Gender Links and Freddy Makgota of the Advertising Standards Authority, also attended the event.

The theme of yesterday's conference was "Is the media part of the problem or part of the solution?"

Teazers was forced to remove a billboard, that featured a naked model and proclaimed that there was "no need for gender testing". This was in bad taste since the debate around Semenya's gender was raging.

Newman said: "Teazers did not hurt Caster Semenya half as much as Leonard Chuene, who sat there dikbek and lied while all along he knew what was happening."

He said Jackson did not give Semenya the money for publicity but because he "is a nice person who wanted to do something for someone who was in need".

Mayende-Sibiya highlighted child pornography and human trafficking as a major concern. She said they were working on strategies to combat gender-based violence.