Over 15 600 sexual offence cases pending
MORE than 15 600 sexual offence victims are still waiting for their court cases to be finalised.
This is according to a recent parliamentary reply by Ronald Lamola, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services. The DA had asked questions about the backlog of sexual offences matters as of January 31 last year and this year.
Lamola said the total number of backlogged cases as of December 31, 2021, was 15 605. A figure was not provided for January 31, 2022.
Lamola said a draft Backlog Reduction Framework was in its final stages of approval. The framework includes two priority areas – an agreement on the fast-tracking and prioritisation of gender-based violence matters, as well as matters involving children.
Werner Horn, the DA’s shadow deputy minister of Justice and Correctional Services, said: “With a backlog as large as this, the hope of achieving timely justice for sexual offence victims appears vanishingly small.”
He said the DA believed the framework would be finalised too late.
“Action needs to be taken immediately. South Africans are tired of committees and task teams with plans that lead nowhere.”
Werner said the DA would write to Lamola, to request that he create and implement an emergency turnaround plan. “The victims of sexual offence crimes deserve justice to be delivered in a swift and effective manner. We will be playing our part in ensuring that our court system does not let them down any longer.”
Some organisations have raised their concerns over the backlog.
Bronwyn Pithey, an advocate at the Women’s Legal Centre, said: “We are concerned by these backlog figures as well as it being a problem probably across the board due to a criminal justice system which seems to be relatively dysfunctional. However, we are particularly concerned about sexual offence cases because of the nature of them. While it is shocking that there are more than 15 000 pending cases, we also have to look at what speed they are being finalised.”
She said that in a parliamentary reply last year on how many sexual offences cases were finalised, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) responded that 3 349 cases were finalised in court over the 2020/2021 period.
“So, while we are not saying that the cases need to be pushed through the system, as we cannot afford to compromise the quality of how the cases are handled for quantity purposes, there needs to be an intervention and working partnership between the NPA and Department of Justice and Correctional Services to reduce the backlog.”
Pithey also heads the violence against women programme at the centre.
Charlene Singh, the chairperson of WomanPACT, a non-profit organisation, said the wait for victims resulted in re-victimisation. This, she said, had a ripple effect on their lives and their families.
“The system needs to be redesigned and reconfigured with the victim in mind. We also need proper protocol, assistance and support for victims from their entry point of when an offence is reported. At this stage, many fall through the cracks.
“Furthermore, many cases are dropped because of the lengthy time it takes for a resolution. We need those in power positions, be it at a police station or through the courts, to be properly trained in how to assist the victim holistically.
“We cannot speak of a society that upholds our Constitution when we have staggering numbers of victims that have not yet had their due justice.”
Lubna Nadvi, a board member at the Advice Desk for the Abused, said: “It’s unfortunate that there are so many sexual offence cases pending. The backlog means that victims have to wait much longer for their matters to be heard and to see justice done.”
Nadvi said sexual offence cases were often dependent on DNA and other evidence for successful convictions.
“If there are backlogs in processing DNA samples, then cases will also be postponed until that evidence is ready to be presented. The same applies to other forms of evidence.
“Capacity by the state and NPA to prosecute cases is also a challenge and cases cannot move ahead if they do not have sufficient resources to be processed,” she said.
Adeshni Naicker, a director at Childline KZN, said: “The high number of outstanding cases is frustrating to social workers, organisations like ourselves as well as to families of victims.
“Victims experience secondary trauma every time they have to go to court. They are also forced to live with the fact that the abuser is walking free. In these instances, where the abuser is out on bail, the chances of the victim coming face to face with the abuser are high. This creates added emotional trauma for the victim.”
Naicker said a factor contributing to the backlog was delays in administration.
“This is where files are mislaid or lost. However, the forensic DNA backlog has exacerbated the situation. A special task force should be put together to facilitate a system to ensure that all backlogged cases are brought up to par.”
In February, Bheki Cele, Minister of Police, said the DNA backlog comprised more than 200 000 cases, of which 159 996 were new.
Cele said 40% of human resources was dedicated to addressing the DNA backlog, while 60% of human resources was dedicated to incoming cases.
“Consumables and chemicals that stalled the processing of DNA are now in supply. Forensic analysts from the KwaZulu-Natal laboratories have since been moved to the Western Cape laboratory to improve performance levels and production output of drugs and narcotics exhibits.
“The construction of the Eastern Cape laboratory is in progress and will be finalised in 2023. The relocation of the KZN laboratory is under way with the assistance of the Department of Public Works.”
The NPA and Department of Justice and Correctional Services had not responded at the time of publication.