The war on our children

by Editor · February 20, 2002

It is a tormented society indeed in which the rape of a child does not constitute the contemptible exception. Many such cases barely register in the column inches of the daily press.

The statement by the Catholic Women’s League condemning the incidence of child rape is therefore timely.

In its statement, the CWL – whose membership comprises a large number of mothers – demands that child rapists not be given bail, and that those found guilty be given “the most severe punishment.”

It should be self-evident that among the most debased crimes, paedophilia merits a place of pre-eminence. Alas, this does not seem so.
This is borne out by the disgraceful conduct of defence counsel Anton Pretorius, who in a Pretoria court disputed the integrity of a five-year-old rape victim on the grounds that she was not a virgin at the time of the rape (which can only mean she had been raped before). Incredibly, the magistrate, Sera Monaledi, bought into this absurd line of argument, and handed the 18-year-old rapist a suspended sentence.

The magistrate and the lawyer have thus become ethically complicit in the perpetual rape of a little girl. It is to be hoped that the relevant authorities will censure both officers of the court resolutely, and rid the judiciary of their ilk.

We welcome the proposals of the South African Law Commission, which include measures designed to reduce the trauma associated with reporting sex crimes and the subsequent legal proceedings.

Scrupulous South Africans are united in their condemnation of sexual abuse, particularly paedophilia, and are demanding action. It is clear that the state must act expeditiously. Public submissions to the proposed changes to the Sexual Offences Act close on February 28. Nothing is to be gained by procrastinating after that date.

While it is imperative that victims should feel confident in entrusting their allegation (in as far as they are grounded in reality) to the police and judiciary, the state is called to standardise penalties for sexual offenders. In the instance of paedophilia particularly, the punishment must be in proportion to the depravity of the crime.

Civil society must play a role, too. Organisations such as Childline are performing a remarkable service in the arena of fighting paedophilia and other forms of child abuse. These structures merit our solid support.

It is crucial that society communicates a clear message to paedophiles: their harmful activities shall no longer be tolerated. Likewise, those who ignore the abuses and protect the abusers should be regarded as colluders in the crime, a notion that is already taking hold internationally.
Paedophilia is an act of terror on children. Let us declare war on this brand of terror.