The Bloemfontein Court for sexual offences: Perceptions of its functioning from the perspective of victims, their families and the professionals involved

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Published date: 24 May 2019
• Citation: (2004) 17 SACJ 289
• Author: S P Walker
• Pages: 289-309
• Date: 24 May 2019

ARTICLES

The Bloemfontein Court for Sexual

Offences: Perceptions of its

functioning from the perspective

of victims, their families and

the professionals involved

SP WALKER* and DA LOUW**

Abstract

The current study investigates the degree to which various parties perceive the Court

for Sexual Offences in Bloemfontein to be making good on its commitment to reduce

secondary victimization and provide improved justice for the victims of sexual

offences. The article provides a general overview of the socio-political context in

which the court was established and continues to function. The perceptions of the

victims of sexual offences, their family members and various professionals involved

with the court are then elicited in order to evaluate its functioning. The court was

found to be successful in reducing secondary victimization and providing improved

justice for those affected by sex crimes. However, a shortcoming was identified with

regard to the system's ability to deal effectively with the victims following the

conclusion of their trials. Directions for further research in this area are also explored.

Introduction

South Africa is plagued by one of the highest, if not the highest, rates of

violent crime in recent international history.

1

This seems to be in no small

part due to the country's turbulent past, where violence served as a vehicle

* BSocSc, BSocSc (Hons), MSocSc (Counselling Psychology) PhD (Psychology) (Free State)

Lecturer, Centre for Psychology and the Law, University of the Free State.

** BA, BA (Hons), MA (Criminology) PhD (Criminology) (Pretoria); MA (Clinical Psychology),

PhD (Psychology) (Northwest)

Professor and Chair: Department of Psychology; Head: Centre

for Psychology and the Law, University of the Free State.

1

L Meintjies-Van der Walt "'Towards victims" empowerment strategies in the criminal justice

process' (1998) 11(2)

SACJ

157; AL Pillay and C Sargent 'Psycho-legal issues affecting rape

survivors with mental retardation' (2000) 30

South African Journal of Psychology

9.

289

(2004) 17 SACJ 289

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290

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SACJ •

(2004) 17

for social reform for the disenfranchised masses, while being equally

enthusiastically employed by the government in efforts to quell this reformist

tide. Pelser and De Kock

2

are of the opinion that this history of widely

sanctioned violent behaviour in South African society has resulted in a

situation where large sectors of the population view interpersonal violence as

a legitimate need-satisfaction strategy. Many South African men seem readily

to apply these strategies to sexual situations. This is evident when viewing

international statistics on sex crimes, where South Africa appears to have the

highest incidence of reported rape in the world.

3

The South African Government has reacted to the current sex crime

epidemic by formulating various strategies aimed at reducing the incidence

of sexual offences. One of the primary strategies employed, along with the

implementation of more effective policing, was the establishment of

specialist sexual offences courts in various areas. The first of these courts

was established in Wynberg in the Western Cape during 1993.

4

Specialist

sexual offences courts were subsequently established in various regions, with

the Bloemfontein Court for Sexual Offences opening its doors in October

1999. Judicial specialization within the sexual offences court framework aims

to increase conviction rates and reduce secondary victimization widely

associated with the prosecution of sexual offence cases. Despite initially

receiving a positive reception in legal as well as welfare circles, sexual

offences courts have been criticized for reverting from their openly-stated

primarily victim-oriented approach to what appears to be a more conviction-

driven mode of operation.

5

This study attempts to determine the perceptions

of the various role-players involved in the criminal prosecution of sexual

offences with regard to the preceding statement.

Literature review

South Africa appears to be one of only a handful of countries making use of

specialist sexual offences courts. Moreover, very few studies seem to have

been conducted following the fairly recent local establishment of these courts.

2

A Pelzer and C de Kock Violence in South Africa: A note on some trends in the 1990's' (2000)

13

Acta Criminologica

80.

3

HCJ van Rensburg

Crime in South Africa — current state and trends

(1990) Paper presented at

the University of Bahrain on 21 November 1999.

4

S Viviers Wynberg Sexual Offences Court: Impressions after a year in operation' (1994)

August

De Rebus

569.

5

Ibid; L Opperman Personal Communication (September 2000); RL Barnes-September

The

development of a protocol for the management of child abuse and neglect D Phil (University of

Western Cape) (1998); K Moult

An observation of the workings of the Wynberg Sexual

Offences Court

BSocSc (University of Cape Town) (2002) available

at http://www.uct.ac.za

/depts/sjrp/publicat/kelleyt.pdf

accessed on 24 August 2004.

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