The phrase "avoid causing offence" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing the importance of being considerate or respectful in communication to prevent upsetting others.
Example: "When addressing sensitive topics, it's crucial to avoid causing offence to ensure a constructive dialogue."
Alternatives: "prevent offending" or "steer clear of upsetting".
The Malaysian Sun says that censors outlawed screenings to avoid causing offence to the country's majority Muslim population.
He's a mischief maker, a Loki-like bringer of chaos, unwilling to compromise to avoid causing offence.
Obama seems well aware of such sentiment, calibrating his speech to avoid causing offence and trying instead to inspire.
Superhero film Dr Strange, out later this year, had to change a key character from Tibetan to European in order to avoid causing offence.
"Particular care must be taken to avoid causing offence on the grounds of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability or age," rule 4.1 of the code states.
If social services feared to tread to avoid causing offence, and perhaps complicating wider work within the Pakistani community, then that has proved a terrible error.
"While some readers may have found the cartoon offensive, the council does not consider that the publication failed to take reasonable steps to avoid causing substantial offence, distress or prejudice," the adjudication published on Monday said.
In the case of advertising, again as mentioned on this blog, the industry's code of conduct includes requirements to be socially responsible (ie, no pitching of booze ads at minors), and to avoid causing deliberate offence (ie, be careful with the sex and violence, especially when young people and children are involved).
We should avoid causing unnecessary offence whilst also ensuring we continue to convey the reality of events and do not unduly sanitise our reporting.
According to the account that is now widely accepted in the scholarly literature, Hume removed almost all the material in the Treatise that was concerned with religion because he was anxious to avoid causing any "offence" among the orthodox.
But all EU countries have devised a formula to avoid causing too much offence to the Chinese, known as a "human rights dialogue".
