Child sex ruling welcomed
2013-01-16 14:39
Bloemfontein - Two organisations working with abused
children have welcomed a court ruling against the criminalisation of consensual
sexual acts between teenagers.
The judgment by the North Gauteng High Court was a victory,
the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, and Resources Aimed at the
Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (Rapcan) said on Wednesday.
"Children will no longer be unnecessarily exposed to
the criminal justice system and will again be able to seek advice and support
on sexual matters without the risk of being reported to the police."
Dignity, privacy
On Tuesday, Judge Pierre Rabie held in favour of an
application stating that the provisions in the Sexual Offences Act criminalised
significant numbers of children for engaging in consensual sexual activities.
The judge found these consensual sexual activities were of a
wide range of acts that would commonly be performed by children engaging in
ordinary sexual exploration such as "French" kissing.
He held that criminalisation would constitute an unjustified
intrusion of control into the intimate and private sphere of children’s
personal relationships, in a manner that would cause severe harm to them.
Rapcan applauded this as a recognition of children’s right
to dignity, privacy and their right to participate in decisions about
sexuality.
"Professionals and parents are now able to provide
children with the necessary support and guidance about sexuality, to make
informed decisions without fear of incriminating the child or themselves,"
the group said.
Spokesperson for the Teddy Bear Clinic, Shaheda Omar, said
the judgment promoted the best interests of children and protected children
from being violated by the very system supposed to protect them.
"We would like to emphasise that this case does not
affect or deal with any acts of sexual violence perpetrated by children,"
she said.
"It deals exclusively with consensual sexual acts
between children and that any non-consensual violent sexual offences committed
by children would still be dealt with in the criminal justice system."
Sexual violence
The department of justice said the judgment had far-reaching
implications in the escalating rate of sexual violence among children under the
age of 16 years.
Justice spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga said the department was
reflecting on all the legal issues in the ruling to see whether there were
valid grounds for an appeal.
Omar said the department’s reaction was a gross misstatement
of the nature of the case and the issues at stake.
Justice Alliance of SA (Jasa), which appeared in the case as
amicus curiae (friend of the court), said the decision should be rejected by
the Constitutional Court on the grounds of common sense.
It said the ruling could not stand because it gave rise to
glaring anomalies which defied common sense.
The matter would now proceed to the Constitutional Court for
confirmation of the declaration of unconstitutionality.
- SAPA
