Q&A with oversight committee chair Bridget Masango on statutory rape crisis

Why haven’t you held the department of social development accountable?

On issues such as statutory rape, it is supposed to be working in partnership with other departments.

As the lead department, isn’t its role to co-ordinate the response of the police, criminal justice, education and health?

Yes. As with other things, it is supposed to be co-ordinating. I think social development as the lead department is failing. We don’t need to strengthen the laws. Implementation, co-ordination and co-operation among departments are what is at issue here.

Are you doing enough to hold this and the other related departments accountable?

I want to say we are doing enough.

Have you asked why the perpetrators are not being jailed?

Yes. And why the perpetrators are not being reported.

Have you asked why mandatory reporting is not being enforced?

We have.

What answers have you been getting?

That people are not reporting because they don’t want to be seen as telling on the perpetrators. They don’t want to get involved because of the consequences for themselves.

Have you asked why there isn’t more support for whistleblowers?

I do not remember this coming up in the discussions we’ve had.

The department talks about support for victims and whistleblowers. Shouldn’t you be asking where it is?

I think this goes straight back to the working in silos of the departments involved in this. I don’t think anything can be achieved if there is no working together. The surge of statutory rape cases is not going down, and the children are getting younger and younger.

Such as 292 girls between 10 and 14 who gave birth at public hospitals in the Eastern Cape last year. How many fathers were arrested?

How many of the fathers are known?

Have you asked social development for their plan to address this surge?

One of the biggest known factors behind this is GBV.

Have you asked if their interministerial committee on GBV is up and running yet?

We are told that it is. But the proof of the pudding is in the numbers if the numbers are going down. But the numbers are not going down. We’re told about this intervention and that intervention, but if they don’t do anything about the crisis, it’s as good as not doing anything.

Isn’t your committee supposed to be holding the department of social development to account?

Yes, for implementation.

Have you asked why there’s been no implementation of mechanisms to prevent statutory rape cases being withdrawn?

Yes. The cases are not reported as often as statutory rape is happening.

Almost 60% of cases that are reported are withdrawn.

Because there are no rape kits in the SAPS. This must be co-ordinated with all the stakeholders involved in fighting this scourge.

Have you asked the lead department about specialised courts for statutory rape cases?

We’ve had the department of justice come to us.

So where are the specialised courts?

Apparently these courts are being developed. Many victims don’t know what to do or who to go to.

Which raises the role of teachers too?

The role of doctors, nurses, social workers. All first responders.