Move on sex crime courts hailed

Pretoria - Sexual offences courts are to be reinstated across the country, with at least 57 regional courts earmarked for upgrades within the next three years, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said on Tuesday.

Following the demise of the 74 sexual offences courts in 2005, a special investigation by the ministerial advisory task team has revealed that the reinstatement of these courts would help improve the conviction and reporting rate.

“We have seen a rise in sexual violence against women and children and we cannot remain unmoved as government, but we can take steps to ensure that all those perpetrators of these heinous crimes be brought to book, and this is one of the ways of dealing with it,” Radebe said.

He indicated that 22 of the courts would be fully operational by the end of the year, with the first of them opening in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape on August 16.

About R20 million had been set aside from the 2013/14 budget for the refurbishment of these courts.

Radebe said the operation of sexual offences courts had not been abandoned by the government. But, due to logistical problems, including the lack of a specific legal framework, a dedicated budget and poor visibility in remote areas, among other problems, the courts fell into disuse.

He said although these courts had recorded considerable successes, the shortcomings made it difficult for them to operate.

The first sexual offences court was established in Wynberg, Cape Town, in 1993.

The task team made several recommendations for the re-establishment of these courts, which are to include a feeding scheme for child witnesses.

Children often become drowsy and sleepy when hungry and this can interfere with testimonies.

The decision to reintroduce these courts was welcomed by women and children’s rights organisations across the country.

The advocacy manager of Women and Men Against Child Abuse, Germaine Vogel, said there were too many cases where child witnesses were left waiting for hours with no refreshments while courts dealt with other, less important cases or when equipment was not working.

“In some cases, the children have to be moved to another courtroom and are often exposed to the perpetrator during the move as there is no waiting area for the children. The introduction of a special waiting room for children will reduce the stress that the child is experiencing,” she said.

Vogel said the feeding scheme was welcome. In many cases, social workers had to buy lunch or snacks for children who were waiting to give evidence.

Children would be able to testify or continue testifying effectively if courts were managed by trained personnel, Vogel said.

“We at Women and Men Against Child Abuse hope that the new courts will ensure that the needs of the State will not supersede the emotional needs of the child,” she said.

The DA’s deputy spokeswoman on justice, Debbie Schafer, said the revival of the Specialised Sexual Offences Courts was welcome news.

Schafer said the DA was not surprised the task team had found that the courts had been effective and had to be brought back.

The courts will have the following resources:

* Proper screening process to identify cases that fall in the sexual offences category.

* Case-flow management that is custom-made for sexual offences.

* A special room from which victims will testify.

* Private waiting room for adults.

* Private waiting room for children.

* Victim support services.

* Designated court clerks.

* Specialist presiding officers who have experience in criminal matters and are trained to work with children.

* Court preparation programme for witnesses to prepare them for court.

* Debriefing services for witnesses and court personnel.

Pretoria News