Recommendations for South Africa

By Emily Pizzale

Not that I am an expert by any means, but using the knowledge and experience I’ve gained over the past three months, I have come up with a short list of recommendations for South Africa and how as a country she could improve her delivery of services and actions of the criminal justice system.

1. Provide training for law enforcement and medical examiners regarding how to assist rape survivors in the most sensitive and effective way. Survivors of rape should not have to worry about the treatment they will receive from the officer they report their rape to or the medical/forensic examiner who collects the evidence for their case. There is no excuse for the incorrect collection of evidence.
2. Ensure the proper documents, such as information on compulsory PEP services and HIV testing, are available at their proper locations such as rape crisis centers, police stations, hospitals and clinics. A survivor needs to be made aware of the many services that are available to them.
3. Focus on opening more all-in-one clinics such as Thuthuzela, which provide everything a survivor of rape could need all in one place, such as counseling services, police and medical care. Having to be shuttled, or rather finding his or her own transport from place to place puts unneeded stress on a survivor of rape; when everything is in one place this is one less thing a survivor has to worry about.
4. Implement education campaigns aimed at debunking harmful myths on rape, such as “women asking for it” based on their style of dress or alcohol or an intoxicated state implying consent. In my opinion, the younger the age these campaigns are targeted at, the better the results. Knowledge is the way to lasting change for the future and South Africa’s youth are South Africa’s future.
5. Reform the court process in that; a survivor of rape should be treated as a key component to his or her own case. A survivor should be heard and her or his report of what happened should hold heavy sway in the case. A survivor should be guaranteed the same rights as his or her attacker. A survivor should be not only allowed but also encouraged to both attend and give a statement at all parts of a case including but not limited to the bail trial, the trial and the parole trial.
6. Provide a prosecutor for the victim whose main goal is to protect the victim from further harassment during the court trial. A survivor of rape should not be afraid to take their case to trial; seeking justice should not include a side of harassment. It will not be the prosecutor’s job to decide or prove that the attacker is guilty or innocent but rather to simply look out for their client’s (the survivors) best interests. Only both parties can benefit from the truth being exposed.
7. Compensation must be provided for the medical services a survivor of rape must pay for, the time spent away from work and the counseling services he or she may require among other expenses. A general fund must be set up and the funds used effectively to provide monetary compensation for survivors. A survivor should at the very least be provided with a safe place to stay, food, running water, childcare and transportation if she or he cannot provide these things for themselves.
8. Information and notification should be provided of how a trial will work, what the survivor can expect, and what is not legally required of them to answer. A trial can be a very intimidating and confusing space for an already traumatized survivor and the survivor needs to be informed of what will happen. Knowing what to expect and how to deal with it can instill confidence in the survivor, which can potentially lead to a more successful case for them.
9. Increase the conviction rate for rapists. There is only a 12% conviction rate here in South Africa, not to mention that most go unreported and many that are reported never go to trial. There is a very small portion of rape cases that actually make it to trial and only about 1 out of 10 of these cases end in a conviction. We should not be afraid of convicting criminals; if the evidence is there to support the crime, they must face their sentence and learn from their mistakes. Allowing rapists to go free only increases the chances that they will rape again as there was no punishment for their actions and also further discourages survivors from reporting their rapes as they see that there will be no conviction for their attacker anyways. A survivor should not feel as though they will go through the complicated and traumatic court process entirely in vain.
10. The most important thing we can offer to survivors of rape is to restore a feeling of safety. Rape is a deeply personal and invasive crime perhaps unlike any other. Our criminal justice system should respect the victim every step of the way and certainly not be the cause for additional trauma, harassment or stress. There should be respect for the victim every step of the way, whether it’s supporting them, informing them or protecting them from further harm. Anyone who encounters a survivor of rape should treat them with the utmost respect and care taking into mind the trauma they have been through and how they must be feeling.

Many of these suggestions require no change in the existing legislation but rather the legislation already in place needs to be adhered to. These recommendations should therefore be quite easy to attend to. Service providers need to be held accountable for their shortfalls and individuals who violate the rights of the survivor should be prosecuted and fired for doing so. Service providers are there to do just that, provide services; if they are not doing their job they are essentially, useless. If these 10 simple recommendations are even partially met South Africa could see a great improvement in the overall satisfaction with service providers and the criminal justice system. Individuals need to speak up and hold their fellow employees and employers accountable and strive for the best that they can do. As South Africa has seen before, one voice or one person can make all the difference.

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