SA justice system found wanting

We are all too aware of the scourge of rape in this country, but three reports appeared alongside each other in this newspaper on Tuesday which once again glaringly illustrate how unsafe the most vulnerable among us are. It is a terrible mirror of broken young lives. A sequel to the highly publicised rape of a child in the toilet of a family restaurant juxtaposed with similar atrocities involving a young girl where the alleged perpetrator knew his victim well, and a parolee facing trial for rape after already having served jail time for an identical crime against a young teen.

In one case, the victim’s family is shocked the suspect has been released on R2,000 bail, while the ANC Women’s League is determined the suspect in the Dros case should remain behind bars.

While the circumstances may well differ widely, there is one common reality.

Our children are not safe – wherever they are.

It also begs the question of whether the checks and balances in our approach to restorative justice are even vaguely effective. We should not decry efforts at the rehabilitation of offenders – even extremely violent ones – which has, in many cases, proved successful.

But the fact of the matter is the life of a 14-year-old was irreversibly altered because a man who had raped a girl the same age was released from prison after serving no more than half of a 10-year sentence.

Second guessing and monitoring repeat offenders is a mammoth task in a country where high prison populations may well put pressure on authorities to entertain the option of early release with more clemency.

But parole conditions must, by necessity, not only be increasingly stringent but be enforced to the hilt.

Unfortunately our restorative justice record will never be judged by its successes, only its failures.

And when it comes to children, we are found wanting.