Sexual offences court launched

THE Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has made a move to help curb the scourge of abuse and sexual violence in the province.

The director general of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Nonkululeko Sindane, officially launched a Sexual Offences Court at the Durban Magistrate’s Court last week, which is in line with the department’s efforts to promote a justice system that is victim-friendly, efficient and sensitive to the needs of victims.

Speaking at the launch, Sindane said that the official launch of this court was testimony of the department’s commitment to deal with violence against vulnerable groups of the society.

Sexual Offences Courts provide specialised victim-support services that are intended to improve the effectiveness of witnesses in court and reduce turnaround time in the finalisation of sexual offences matters. Sindane indicated that the court is one of the 57 that has been upgraded to provide sufficient support to victims of sexual crimes.

“Since August 2013, the department has upgraded a total of 41 Sexual Offences Court countrywide. Furthermore although we still have more courts to upgrade so that they meet the set standard for proper victims support, the 41 established courts are already making a significant impact. The rebirth of these specialised courts undeniably contributed to the increase of the conviction rate in sexual offences from 59, 6 per cent in 2013/2014 to 64 per cent in 2014/2015,” she added.