The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi announced on Tuesday that the National Register for Sex Offenders will be published by the end of February.
Kubayi made her remarks at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation Women’s Empowerment 365 Days Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Dialogue at Zola in Soweto.
“As I got into the portfolio, one of the issues that has been reported was the need for us as a department to release the register, to make it public, for those who have been sentenced and convicted of gender-based violence, to protect our children.
“I have agreed that we will be able to release this, and my timeframe is before the end of February 2025, the register will be public,” said Kubayi.
The minister stated the call to release the names of sex offenders was urgent as it would curb violence perpetrated against women and children.
She emphasised the published list will immediately alert the public about sex offenders, especially in child-friendly areas such as schools.
“This is important because we as parents, we are protecting our children as we send them to crèches, we send them to school.
“We need to know that who is this person that we are leaving (our children with). Has this person previously convicted of these crimes?,” said Kubayi.
The minister lamented how GBV and femicide have become normalised in the country.
Kubayi highlighted that South Africa’s patriarchal practices and toxic masculinities have enabled GBV to spike, which subjects children and women to violence and femicide.
Kubayi’s remarks aligned with the Human Sciences Research Council report that found almost 70% of SA men believed a woman should “obey” her husband.
The minister mentioned the country adopted the Gender-Based Violence and Femicide National Strategic Plan (GBVF NSP) to aid in eliminating the scourge of violence against women and children.
In line with the GBVF Strategic Plan, the department intends to increase the number of sexual offence courts, particularly in rural areas.
“With the alarming figures of sexual violence in the country and the increasing number of child pregnancies, our courts must offer support services that are tailor-made for the survivors of sex crime.
“As reported by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the conviction rate in sex crimes reported directly to the Thuthuzela Care Centres now stands at 78%, which is above the planned annual target of 70%,” said Kubayi.
The department also plans to upgrade 100 district courts customised for survivors of domestic violence.
“In collaboration with the judiciary, the plan is to have all applications attended to everyday.
“Where there is prima facie evidence, every applicant should leave the courthouse with a protection order on the day of application,” said Kubayi.
The department has put forward a 100 Days Challenge in eliminating backlog cases of domestic and sexual violence, and maintenance and divorce matters.
“In 100 Days, selected courts with high volume of backlog GBV cases will be challenged to come up with creative and sustainable innovations to reduce the turnaround times in the finalisation of these cases and also to address the existing case backlogs,” said Kubayi.
The Star