Programme Director
Executive Mayor of Nelson Mandela Metro, Honourable Zanoxolo Wayile
Professor Vivian Lawack of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Director of Rape Crisis Centre, Mrs Berenice Jacobs Malgas
Representatives of various organisations present
Distinguished guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honoured to be part of this vigintennial celebration of the rape crisis’ existence and wish to express the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s appreciation to you and your partnership in strengthening the Criminal Justice System in the management of sexual and gender based violence. Your efforts, interventions and guidance have not gone unnoticed. Today this government has one of the most progressive legislative tools, governance structures, such as the national gender machineries, Interdepartmental management team, even a new ministry for Women, children and persons with disabilities, in addition also an internationally recognised best practice models such as the Thuthuzela Care Centres, all of these have been possible because of your collaborative and cooperative partnership.
Again, we must express our gratitude to you for extending the invitation to us as various stakeholders and partners to celebrate our collective cooperation against the scourge of rape in our communities. I must commend the excellent work done by the centre for the past twenty years. Providing services to Dora Nginza, Livingstone and provincial hospitals in this region with the bulk of its work benefiting the townships of Port Elizabeth is not a child’s play. These services which reach out to 15000 people and 1500 rape survivors per year is really commendable.
We all know about the scourge of sexual violence in our country and the image that is painted about South Africa as a violent society. A survey for the period 1998 -2000 compiled by the UN ranked South Africa first for rapes per capita. A 1998 research conducted by Community Information, Empowerment and Transparency (CIET) Africa (Tropical Disease Research Centre, based in Mexico) found that one in three of the 4 000 women questioned in Johannesburg was raped or sexually abused. To top it all, another survey by CIET found that 60% of the boys and girls questioned thought that it was not violent to force sex upon someone they knew, while around 11% of the boys and 4% of the girls admitted to having forced someone to have sex with them.
That was then. What about the present? Much has been done to confront the scourge and yet there is still much more to be done.
Programme director,
It is also crucial that this meeting take place now, just a week before we launch the 16 days of No Violence Against Women and Children. During this period all South Africans are urged to work together to protect women and children from violence and exploitation. This campaign provides us with a unique opportunity to take stock and renew our commitment to eliminating violence against women and children. It is therefore befitting that we are meeting today to reaffirm our collective commitment to act against abuse.
My department is fully aware of the need to ensure the protection of the rights to equality, human dignity, privacy and freedom, as well as security of each person in this country as mandated by our constitution. The commitment is also informed by the obligations South Africa has in terms of international instruments for human rights such as the Beijing Platform for Action, Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women.
We have made inroads towards combating rape in our country, through amongst others the Anti-Rape Strategy; that provides a framework for integrated prevention, support and response services to women and children. These initiatives are especially urgent as gender-based violence is one of the reasons why in many ways HIV and Aids remain highest among women.
One of the factors that make women and girls to be vulnerable to violence is disempowerment and economic dependency. Even though the success of these economic empowerment strategies will create an environment in which women will be able to assert themselves, we spare no effort in looking at new initiatives to deal with issues of violence against women. One initiative that ensures offender accountability on violence against women and children is the Thuthuzela model which integrates the criminal justice processes from reporting to finalisation of the cases.
Thuthuzela Care Centres remain the flagship of South Africa’s attempts in delivering gender Justice to its inhabitants. Although legislative frameworks and policies exist on gender based violence (GBV) amongst African countries, it remains a growing public health challenge. Hence the decision by the South African government realisation to hold annual colloquia, conferences, indabas and summits to share experiences and practices on Gender Justice in Africa to promote information and experience sharing.
The existence of dual systems to justice in our country dictates that we ensure that issues of women rights are mainstreamed in both systems. One of the ways in which we ensure women access to justice is through the “Ndabezitha” programme which is most relevant for women in rural communities who live within the traditional governance structures. Project Ndabezitha was conceptualised to empower traditional leaders in dealing with domestic violence in the rural areas in order to:
- Take justice to the communities
- Decrease backlog in domestic violence cases
- Reduce secondary victimisation
- Introduce early intervention
Through this programme a common understanding and application of the Domestic Violence Act at lower courts, particularly between our Magistrate’s courts and the Traditional/ Customary courts has been created.
We have further agreed that strategic and operational links are critical within the JCPS and Social Cluster to strengthen the implementation of an integrated multidisciplinary approach in addressing gender injustices, which more often than not are the root causes of sexual and gender based violence, by law enforcement agencies, social development, health and civil society. It was also agreed, among others, that there is urgent need to strengthen and integrate strategies and activities on the link that exists between sexual offences with HIV and Aids, mental health, drug and substance abuse and poverty.
I am particularly disturbed by the recent withdrawal of the case of Ms Andy Kawa due to failure of the investigating officer to subpoena witnesses for trial. I have now been informed by the prosecution that the police have been instructed to secure the attendance of all witnesses with a view to reinstating the case. These are some of the challenges we are facing which clear reflect on the lack of sensitivity to sexual violence cases. I am confident that once the case has been reinstated the wheels of justice will be back motion as the Department will monitor the progress of the case.
While we celebrated some of our successes, the scourge was at the same time taking a new shape: a more grotesque and disturbing phenomenon emerged, a strange myth that swept throughout the country, that having sex with a virgin will cure a man of HIV or AIDS. Yet another form of the scourge has emerged: Not long ago, at around 11 pm, on a Friday in Gugulethu, a 30 year old woman was almost home when a man stopped her and asked for a cigarette. She obliged. The man then pushed her into a nearby shack, beat her and raped her. In her statement to the police, the woman said that throughout the assault her attacker repeatedly told her: “You think you are a man, but I am going to show you are a woman.”
Programme Director, allow me to announce that the National Task Team on Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex (LGBTI) issues has finalised an empirical research that was conducted in sampled courts to determine, inter alia, the manner in which cases involving victims of LGBTI should be registered and speedily dealt with; the special needs of these victims, and how they can be effectively addressed. I am informed that this research report has now moved the Team to the next level of finalising the intervention strategy.
In the meantime, through Information Sessions, the Department continues to sensitise the court personnel of the dynamics involved when dealing with LGBTI cases. These sessions are mainly aimed at dismantling stereotypes and mindsets that infringe the constitutional rights of the LGBTI persons as they engage with the court system.
Recently, in support of the cause, the Department participated for the second time in the annual International Gay Pride event, where the Deputy Minister gave a message of support. Currently, we are working closely with GCIS to finalise the development of a media campaign against homophobic crimes.
More than 64,500 sexual offences were reported to the South African Police this year. Of the victims of sexual violence, 67% were under the age of 15 years, recording a 6% increase from the 61% reported in 2011.
However, the true magnitude of sexual violence is hidden because of its sensitive and illegal nature. Most women and children and families do not report cases of abuse and exploitation because of stigma, fear, and lack of trust in the authorities. Social tolerance and lack of awareness also contribute to under-reporting.
It is for this reason that we have intensified our programmes directed at combating sexual violence through a number of holistic and integrated legislative measures and awareness campaigns. Government’s response to rape and related sexual offences is that it is a problem that calls for a coherent and integrated action. As the chair of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster, we are committed to working with civil society, the traditional leadership, academia and other partners to accelerate the realisation of human rights and a crime free South Africa.
Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot beat the scourge of sexual violence if we do not specialise in the manner in which we handled these cases within the criminal justice system. I am informed that two days ago the National Prosecution Authority held a National Stakeholder Workshop, which had the attendance of the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, the Director-General for Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions and other executive managers of the JCPS Cluster. From this engagement, the stakeholders unanimously agreed to the need for the establishment and improvement of specialised victim support services at every service point within the sexual offences value chain.
Programme Director, we cannot be oblivious of the fact that victims of sexual offences have special needs that require special services that can only be offered by specialists in this field.
As you may all know, specialisation in the management of sexual offences cases is not a new concept in South Africa. In fact, we ought to be proud that our Sexual Offences Courts were and still are recognised as an international best practice in addressing the scourge of sexual violence. As you will recall, in June 2012 I commissioned the establishment of a Task Team to investigate the viability of re-establishing the Sexual Offences Courts. Programme Director, today I am proud to announce that in August 2012 the Ministerial Task Team on Sexual Offences Courts finalised two research studies that both revealed the need for the re-establishment of Sexual Offences Courts in South Africa. However, work is in progress. Currently, the Team is developing a revised Sexual Offences Court Model that seeks to address the gaps that led to the demise of the previous Specialised Sexual Offences Courts. This is to ensure that we do not repeat what caused us to fail in the past. This process runs in parallel with the resource audit that is conducted at all Regional Courts to determine the cost implications of re-establishing these courts.
Currently, we have a capacity of 161 intermediaries spread over all Dedicated Sexual Offences Courts. We have installed in these courts 324 Closed Circuit TV Systems and 49 One-Way Mirrors, and established 224 Child Testifying Rooms. The aim is to progressively achieve the establishment of a victim-centred criminal justice system that is responsive, prompt and effective.
We welcome the many efforts and the array of activities and initiatives taken by the various role players aimed at producing a coherent and effective anti-rape strategy, including the adoption of amendments to relevant laws, and educational, social and other measures, including national information and awareness-raising campaigns.
It is therefore our belief that to deal with the violence effectively and the associated silence we need to strengthen our multi-sectoral approach that does not preach to the converted but finds ways to speak increasingly to the victims and the perpetrators
Lastly, as I indicated earlier that one of Government’s response to rape and sexual violence is to encourage the development of a coherent and integrated multi-sectoral action, we are therefore actively pursuing the establishment of partnerships with communities and will continue to do so in order to adequately protect our vulnerable groups. This is another area where we hope that through the various awareness campaigns, such the 16 days, we will increase awareness and also cooperation with various communities throughout the country.
In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, the road ahead is still long. We as the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development are determined to fight this scourge and invite you to partner with us for another 20 years and beyond! Together we will succeed.
Thank you.
