While the country observes Women’s Month this August, rape victims have little to celebrate because the country’s justice and police systems continue to fail women and children.
This is a view held by Nandi Sibeko, whose daughter, Simphiwe,14, was raped and killed almost two years ago.
The Dobsonville, Soweto, teenager was reported missing in April 2020. Her mutilated body was found dumped in an open veld in Emndeni a day after she was reported missing. Two suspects aged 17 and 22 were arrested days after her murder.
Police at the time indicated that they had secured a confession from one of the suspects and that they had enough evidence to link the accused to the crime. But both accused were released in July last year and the rape and murder case was provisionally withdrawn due to pending DNA results.
“The justice system has failed me. My child was killed in the most brutal manner and the people who confessed to killing her are living their lives as normal. Some of my family members have seen these men walking around freely in the streets. They are not even bothered by the pain they caused us,” said Sibeko.
Sibeko said the police are not doing enough to remove rape perpetrators from the streets. “My daughter’s case has gone cold and it seems nobody cares about it. Then how are we supposed to have trust in the police or the courts when they treat us like this?” asked Sibeko.
The Sibekos are not the only ones waiting for justice. In September, the police ministry said it had over 240,000 pending DNA results for rape cases. But the police Forensic Science Laboratories (FSL) is said to be making significant improvement to clear the DNA backlog.
According to the police ministry, the current backlog is now around 150,000.
“In May, police minister Bheki Cele told members of parliament that the DNA backlog had been reduced by 38.71% from 251,603 to 154,204. These figures have continued to drop. Minister Cele will soon give an update on the current figures and the progress that has been recorded in recent months to ensure that we don’t talk about issues of DNA backlog by 2023,” said police ministry spokesperson Lirandzu Themba.
Themba said FSL personnel have been putting in extra hours of work and additional staff has been brought in to assist at laboratories. She said lab machines have also been repaired to help meet the 2023 deadline.
“Consumables needed for DNA testing have been secured in all SAPS laboratories, vacant positions have been filled and shifts have been adjusted to deal with the backlog and new cases. The SAPS is confident that this backlog will be cleared if it continues to put in place extra ordinary measures,” she said.
But non-profit organisation Gender-Based Violence Monitor SA holds a different view, saying the ministry will not meet the 2023 target.
“The DNA backlog means that survivors and communities are failed by the justice system as perpetrators are released back to communities due to delays with DNA analysis. It’s a status quo of justice denied for survivors because of backlogs,” said GBV Monitor SA executive director Omogolo Taunyane Mnguni.
While the ministry takes steps to address the DNA backlog, it is also concerned about the increasing number of rape cases in the country.
Speaking during an anti-crime imbizo in Kagiso at the weekend, Cele said 10,000 women were raped in SA between January to March.
Taunyane said the reported rape cases don’t reflect the entire problem as many cases go unreported.
“These horrifying numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. We know that there is rampant under-reporting of GBV cases because of fear of stigma and secondary trauma. The statistics depict a country that is gravely dangerous for women and children to live in. We need bold interventions,” she said.
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