Mixed views over sex offenders registry
AS PARLIAMENT is due to decide the fate of the bill that seeks to make public the names of convicted sex offenders, a prisoner rights body has challenged the state to equally shame public servants found guilty of fraud and corruption.
As part of the government’s efforts against gender-based violence, the Justice and Correctional Services Department recently proposed a set of three bills, including the Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Bill, which would make provision for names of convicted sex offenders to be made available to the public.
Departmental spokesperson Chrispin Phiri said the draft law was in the purview of Parliament, which was scrutinising public comments received.
The bill “aims, among other things, to extend the ambit of the offence of incest, introduce a new offence of sexual intimidation, further regulate the inclusion of particulars of persons in the National Register for Sex Offenders, make provision for certain particulars of persons who have been convicted of sexual offences to be made publicly available, further regulate the removal of particulars of persons from the National Register for Sex Offenders; and further regulate the reporting duty of persons who are aware that sexual offences have been committed against children”.
Golden Miles Bhudu, the president of the South African Prisoners’ Organisation for Human Rights, dared the state to go ahead and publish the names of the people who he said would have already paid their dues for their offences.
But, he said, if they did that to sexual offenders, then there should be an equal application of the law in that, the names of politicians and top officials who had been convicted of corruption or fraud for looting the public purse should also be publicised.
“We are in a country that is not only confused and drunk with too much power, too much power in too few hands,” Bhudu said.
“These former convicts have been jailed, served sentences and come out with criminal records, they cannot get a job. Already, they are down and out.
“We have made countless submissions against this proposal for years because it is infringing on the person’s right to access future prospects for making a living.
“But you know our government, they just do as they please. We have given them too much power through our votes,” said Bhudu, who added that the organisation had given up trying to fight the government because of limited legal resources.
A non-profit civic organisation, Amandla.mobi wrote to the government calling for easy access of the register to members of the public.
“We call on the department to make the sex offenders list publicly accessible online and on mobile platforms that anyone can access. This list should be a free government site so that anyone can access the list even when they don’t have data,” the organisation said in a statement.
In June 2009, the department implemented the National Register
for Sex Offenders, a dossier containing information on people who have been convicted of sexual offences against children and mentally disabled people.
Currently, the register is not available to the public, only employers can access it, the department said.
The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services have received submissions from “stakeholders and interested persons” on the bill and two others, which, according to Phiri, are aimed at strengthening the fight against gender-based violence.
Phiri said another one was the Domestic Violence Amendment Bill, which was intended to amend and insert certain definitions, further provide for the manner in which acts of domestic violence and matters related thereto must be dealt with by certain functionaries, persons and government departments and further regulate obtaining of protection orders in response to acts of domestic violence.
The third, he said, was the Criminal Matters Amendment Bill, which was aimed to amend, among other things, the Magistrates’ Courts Act, 1944, so as to provide for the appointment of intermediaries and the giving of evidence through intermediaries in proceedings other than criminal proceedings, the oath and competency of intermediaries and the giving of evidence through an audio-visual link in proceedings other than criminal proceedings.
“It also aims to amend the Criminal Procedure Act so as to further regulate the granting and cancellation of bail; the giving of evidence by means of closed-circuit television or similar electronic media; the giving of evidence by a witness with physical, psychological or mental disability; the appointment, oath and competency of intermediaries; and the right of a complainant in a domestic-related offence to participate in parole proceedings,” said Phiri.