Stricter laws for sex offenders

2008-05-06 18:22

Johannesburg - Solidarity's Helping Hand Fund on Tuesday welcomed the stricter workplace legislation against sexual offenders that would come into effect soon.

A project manager at the Fund Mariana Kriel said the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Amendment Act (32 of 2007) would limit career options for sexual offenders.

"In terms of the amendment, which will come into force on Youth Day, sex offenders may not be employed in workplaces where there is direct or indirect contact with children or people with intellectual disabilities," she said in a statement.

She said the Act applied to people who had committed sexual offences against children and stipulated that a database with the name of sex offenders had to be compiled.

Persons whose names appeared on the database would be prohibited from working in certain occupations.

Kriel said in terms of the amendment, sex offenders might possibly be prohibited from working as nurses, psychologists, doctors, teachers or airline staff.

She said when the amending act was implemented, employers would also be compelled to terminate the services of any sex offender, unless the person could be placed in another, suitable position.

"The new legislation acknowledges the problem regarding sex offences against children and people with intellectual disabilities.

"The Helping Hand is pleased with the decision and hopes it will be properly enforced," said Kriel.

She said that in a country where a child was raped every 24 minutes or molested every eight minutes. This legislation should already have been in existence.

- SAPA