Call for name-and-shame list
2003-02-18 23:50
Philda Essop
Cape Town - Child abusers, rapists and murderers should be exposed in public, Marius Fransman, Western Cape minister for social services and poverty relief, said on Tuesday.
That is why he has petitioned the department of justice to investigate the possibility of a shame list, containing the names of criminals found guilty of offences against women and children.
Fransman already sent a letter to Justice Minister Penuell Maduna in which he addressed this issue.
"Our children run the risk of being abused or raped every day. This barbaric action was highlighted recently when Keelyn Clayton of Ottery was stabbed 13 times before her throat was slit."
Fransman said despite various projects by government and non-governmental organisations, other measures needed to be put into place to ensure the safety of children.
"We have to make it difficult for offenders to continue their horror acts in the community. There are still too many children suffering sexual abuse.
"We have to expose those offenders who bring sorrow and pain to our communities. We are beyond the point of debating an offender's constitutional right to privacy," Fransman said.
Important to identify offenders
Lesley Liddell, director of Rape Crisis, welcomed the suggestion and said it was important that offenders be identified. "The more people know about an offender, the better. It will probably not be a deterrent, but it is important that the community is informed," Liddell said.
"We would like to see that which the minister calls a shame list evolve into a centralised sex offender's registry," said Soraya Abass, director of Molo Songololo, an organisation that champions children's rights.
Research by Fransman's department shows that 350 child abuse cases are reported to Tygerberg Hospital every month.
"Our internal phone-in service receives most of its calls from Mitchell's Plain, Eerste River and Khayelitsha. A total of 3 423 cases were reported last year."
Fransman also announced that he would table legislation for an independent Child Commissioner on February 26. "This process must be speeded up because we need a mechanism through which we can give children a voice. We need an ambassador for our children," he said.
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