Chairperson, the FD welcomes the amendment Bill. We particularly welcome the comprehensive and extensive review of all laws relating to sexual offences and the inclusion of all these offences in a single statute. We agree that women and children are particularly vulnerable and are more likely to become victims of sexual offences. South Africa has a relatively high incidence of sexual offences, especially against women and children. This is indicative of the moral decay in our society.
It is not only the duty of the religious leaders in churches, mosques and temples to teach against sexual sin, but parents, caregivers and teachers must all play an active role in sex education. One of the objects of this Bill, in clause 2(e)(iii), is to eradicate the relatively high incidence of sexual offences by facilitating a uniform and co-ordinated approach by relevant government departments in dealing with sexual offences.
Once this Bill has been passed and if government wants to demonstrate that it is serious about sexual offences, it must deal with sexual offences in our prisons that take place there on a daily basis, often with the knowledge of the prison warders. The report of the Jali Commission and other investigative reports have proven beyond reasonable doubt that male rape is rife in our prisons. With the passing of this Bill, a prisoner who has experienced rape in any of our prisons will be able to institute a substantial civil claim against our government if it can be proven that a government official such as a prison warder has been fully aware of the repeated sexual offences, but has taken no adequate precaution to separate offenders from their victims in prisons. A further object of the Bill states that relevant organs of the state must give proper recognition to the needs of victims of sexual offences through timeous investigation and prosecution. The FD therefore supports this Bill. I thank you. [Applause.]