Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
South African Press Association (Johannesburg) - August 4, 2003
DA justice spokeswoman Sheila Camerer, has vowed to fight the excision of a clause in the new Sexual Offences Bill to provide post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent HIV in rape survivors.
The Inkatha Freedom Party and the Independent Democrats have expressed their outrage at Cabinet removing the clause from the new legislation.
Camerer noted that "assisting rape survivors with prophylactic drugs was to be part of a package to curb the scourge of rape and minimise its evil effects. For the government to claim that it cannot officially afford to budget for treatment is a travesty of good governance and a lie.
"In the asset recovery account, in which forfeited proceeds of crime are deposited by the Scorpions and the Asset Forfeiture Unit, lies more than R27-million.
"The purpose of this account is to fight crime and assist victims of crime. Not a cent has yet been paid out. The provision of antiretrovirals to rape survivors is exactly the kind of thing on which this money should be spent."
The Bill, to be tabled before the justice portfolio committee on Tuesday and Wednesday, initially had a clause obliging government to provide treatment for HIV, sexually transmitted illnesses and the prevention of pregnancies, but Cabinet removed it on July 23.
This is despite parliament's committee on the status of women calling, in 2002, for such treatment to be made mandatory.
South Africa has the world's highest overall incidence of rape according to Interpol, and the world's highest rate of HIV.
Camerer said she was outraged by government's decision.
"It represents yet another example of the (African National Congress) government going back on its word as far as the treatment of HIV/Aids is concerned.
"The Democratic Alliance will fight tooth and nail in the justice portfolio committee -- to which the Sexual Offences Bill will be submitted this week -- to reinstate the clause."
Camerer said there was "no doubt" that, on the basis of principle and the government's previous undertaking to fight crime, assist rape survivors, secure convictions, and protect women and children from violence, the clause should remain in the Bill. This was without mentioning the humanitarian considerations and the health of the South African nation.
Suzanne Vos of the Inkatha Freedom Party has also attacked the decision and the Independent Democrats said they could not understand what had motivated government to take such a step.
Rape expert, Dr Adrienne Wulfsohn of Johannesburg has pointed out that it would cost government R200 to give HIV preventative medication to rape survivors, but R600,000 to treat them for HIV if they contracted the virus.
Research by Wulfsohn and others has shown those who survived rapes in South Africa have a 30- to 40 percent risk of becoming HIV-positive if raped by an HIV-positive person or people. The US Centers for Disease Control puts the risk at 35 percent if a person is raped by an HIV-positive individual.
There are an average of 54,000 reported rapes in South Africa each year, of which 40 percent are children under the age of 12.
The SA Law Commission estimated in 1999 that there were more than 1.6-million rapes each year in South Africa.
The new sexual offences legislation has been on the drawing board for the past four years and has entailed extensive consultation with interest groups and organisations in South Africa.
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