Soundbite by Angel Khanyile MP.
The Democratic Alliance welcomes the commencement of the statutory rape inquiry by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities. This is a crucial step in confronting a devastating crisis that is destroying the lives of one of our most vulnerable groups of South African citizens.
The scourge of statutory rape, often behind teenage pregnancy, represents a profound failure to protect our most vulnerable. It is a violation of human rights, a brutal act of gender-based violence, and a crime that robs children of their childhood, and increasingly hampers their education, and their future.
We thank the Committee for heeding the calls from civil society and opposition parties, including the DA, to embark on this critical work. The planned enquiries across provinces are essential to hear directly from NGO’s, healthcare workers, social workers, and public representatives. Only by understanding the full scope and root causes of this epidemic can we hope to develop effective, lasting solutions as lawmakers.
The DA does not merely offer rhetorical support for this inquiry. For months, the DA has been conducting our own nationwide probe into the crises of teenage pregnancy and statutory rape. Our investigation has analysed data gathered from Parliamentary and legislature questions, and identified systemic failures in our child protection services, support structures for survivors and lack of implementation of children’s act 38 of 2005 section 110.
We believe our findings will be invaluable to the Committee’s work. Therefore, we will ensure to submit our observations when the report is tabled in Parliament. We will provide the Committee with a clear-eyed assessment of where the system is failing and a concrete roadmap for strengthening our laws, ensuring their rigorous implementation, and holding perpetrators accountable.
Our shared goal must be to create a society where every child is safe, where their rights are inviolable, and where adults who prey on them face the full might of the law.
We urge all South Africans with information or personal experiences relevant to this issue to report their cases with relevant stakeholders. Your voice and action are crucial in shaping a future where no child has to suffer in silence.