Minister of Justice opposed the case to have “defence of subjective consent to rape” scrapped By Geoffrey Allsop The Johannesburg High Court has delivered a significant judgment. It has declared unconstitutional the defence of “subjective consent” to a charge of rape. Judge Selby Baqwa said such a defence unjustifiably violates the constitutional rights of rape survivors and complainants to equality, human dignity, privacy and...

Activists picketed outside the department’s regional office in Cape Town on Monday to demand better upgrades By Mary-Anne Gontsana Rape Crisis and supporters protested in Cape Town on Monday. They want the Justice department to fulfil its promise to make services at the sexual offences court in Khayelitsha safer and more accessible to all survivors. The department says it has made...

The court overturned a will written 119 years ago which stipulated that only male descendants could inherit By Tania Broughton The Constitutional Court last week overturned a clause in a will written 119 years ago, which specified that only male descendants could inherit the family’s farms and properties. At the heart of the matter was the issue of freedom of testation in private...

Rape survivor argues police did not investigate properly By Tania Broughton On Tuesday the Constitutional Court will hear the case of Ms K, who was repeatedly raped in Port Elizabeth in 2010. She argues that the police failed to act fast enough or to investigate her case properly. She won damages in the Port Elizabeth High Court but the Supreme Court...

Survivors of rape need better support within the criminal justice system, say civil society organisations By Mary-Anne Gontsana “We need a sexual offences court in Khayelitsha immediately,” Nombulelo Sithilanga of Thuthuzela Care Centre told a panel discussion at the Isivivana Centre last month. According to Crime Stats SA, 444 sexual offences cases, including 367 cases of rape, were opened at the three main...