A child’s innocence is not for sale

Estella Naicker

PARENTS of child rape victims are receiving compensation from the monsters who savagely stole their children’s innocence in return for withdrawing the case.

This is one of the sickening revelations regarding woman and child abuse that was made during a one-on-one with the head of Vryheid’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS), Captain Sizakele Ntuli.

This Friday, November 25, marks the start of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children, and Captain Ntuli has this message for parents who accept compensation from their children’s rapists, “How can you not care about the trauma your child has faced? Children are young. Children are precious. They are our angels. They are innocent. They are our future… And they deserve our protection!”

According to Captain Ntuli, compensation usually occurs in the form of money, but it is not uncommon for parents to ask the rapist for a cow or goats in return for withdrawing a case.

“I want to ask parents to stop receiving compensation from perpetrators of this brutal crime. We do not withdraw cases at the request of parents. The case is still investigated and taken to court where the rapist will face the consequences for what he has done,” she warned.

Captain Ntuli took over the Vryheid FCS in August last year, having been promoted from her position at the Eshowe FCS.

She decided to join the FCS unit when she started off as a police woman in the charge office. “In the charge office, I was worried about the high volume of rape cases that were reported and so I decided that I wanted to be part of the FCS to help victims of abuse.”

The Vryheid FCS is responsible for investigating rape and abuse cases in Vryheid, eMondlo, Hlobane, Paulpietersburg, Gluckstad, Ngome and Louwsberg.

Of the seven stations within the Vryheid FCS operational area, eMondlo receives the highest volume of rape complaints, followed by Hlobane and then Vryheid.

Captain Ntuli explains that an aggravating factor leading to the large number of rapes in the eMondlo area, is the large number of shebeens and taverns that stay open overnight.

“Most the rape incidents that take place in the eMondlo area occur between 1am and 4am when the victim is walking back home from a shebeen,” she said. “These women are vulnerable to potential attackers. I will be visiting schools during the ’16 Days’ to warn young girls about the dangers of walking home late at night, but with the school holidays approaching, I would like to implore parents to discourage their children from staying out late at night, and to make sure their children are not vulnerable. Smaller children should always be within sight of a trustworthy adult.”

Sadly, most child rapes reported are cases of incest, where the perpetrator is an uncle, or even a brother or the child’s father. Also common in the area is the rape of mentally disabled children.

The youngest victim of rape that Captain Ntuli has come across in the area is two-years-old and the oldest is 87.

Captain Ntuli advises that a victim of rape follow these steps just after a rape occurs:

– Report the incident immediately. Go to a neighbour for help if you can, and ask them to contact the police. Otherwise, contact the police yourself.

– Do not wash yourself, or attempt to clean yourself in any way. Don’t even change your clothes. If you do, you may be destroying evidence that could help us get a conviction in court.

– When the police arrive, they will first take you to the hospital, where a doctor will examine you and collect evidence. Thanks to DNA linkage, many cases that were unsolved in the past are now being solved when the perpetrator is arrested for a recent crime.

– At the hospital you will also receive treatment for any injuries you sustained, and you will be given medication to prevent the spread of HIV, as well as medication to prevent pregnancy.

– After that, a case is opened and you will be interviewed by the investigating officer. You will also be referred to the Department of Social Development for counselling.

– If the victim is able to identify her attacker, we arrest him immediately. He will spend at least seven days behind bars while he waits for an opportunity to apply for bail. During this time, the investigating officer gathers evidence.

– If it is found that the woman has opened a false case for any reason, and wishes to withdraw the rape charges, we then charge the woman for opening a false case, and we will arrest her.

Captain Ntuli wished to leave victims of rape with some reassurance, “You are not alone. We are here to help you. Come to us and talk to us about what happened. We promise that all your information will be kept confidential. And please, love yourself as you loved yourself before this happened. You are still the same person.”