Johannesburg – An alarming 15 473 rape cases are before SA courts prompting the GOOD party to warn the Justice system was “not coping” with these exceedingly high numbers.
Just over a week ago, Police Minister General Bheki Cele revealed that in just three months – July and September this year – the SA Police Service recorded 9 556 rapes, an increase of 600 compared to the same period in 2021.
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“South Africa’s justice system is not coping with the ever-increasing volume of rape cases and is clearly failing the women and children of our country,” said Brett Herron, GOOD party secretary general on Sunday.
His comments coincide with the 16 Days of Activism campaign against Gender-Based Violence launched Friday, (25 November 2022).
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Herron said: “In a written reply to our Parliamentary question, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, revealed this week that a staggering number of 15 473 rape cases are currently before the courts”.
Herron said in his response Lamola stated: “The total number of outstanding rape cases on the court rolls is: 10 118 in the regional courts and 5 355 in the district courts.”
The GOOD party secretary general said the situation was exacerbated by tens of thousands of new rape cases reported to the police each quarter, “while the pace of rape convictions remains worryingly slow”.
Herron said: “At the time of asking, the police statistics disclosed only 286 rape convictions between 1 April and 30 June 2022”.
He added: “During that same period, another 9 516 rapes had been reported to police and in the following quarter, between July and September 2022, yet another 10 590 rape cases were opened.
“As a country we need to use this 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children Campaign to soberly reflect on what needs to be done to address this war against the most vulnerable in society.
“We need effective action, not just outrage and anger every time these statistics increase”.
Herron said South Africa is a violent, crime-ridden place.
“We need to address this in a holistic manner, which includes the transformation of our current social, spatial and economic structures,” said Herron.
“However, this should also be complemented with the deterrence of the likelihood of prosecution and conviction, which is currently almost non-existent in South Africa.
“Women and children need to know that when they speak up, they will be supported by a functioning system that will actually ensure consequences for perpetrators and some form of justice for them.”
