Report on Sexual Abuse of Children Hearings

Cheryllyn Dudley MP African Christian Democratic Party

Monday, 24 June 2002

In Parliament today Cheryllyn Dudley MP for the African Christian Democratic Party and member of the task group investigating sexual abuse of children, gave the following speech responding to the task group’s report on the Sexual Abuse of Children Hearings:

Madam Speaker/Chairman

Working with the task group, although time consuming, was a privilege and I hope worthwhile opportunity. I would like to thank Mr. Saloojee, the small group of members who actually committed to the process and the support staff who did an excellent job.

Many important recommendations have been made and relevant Portfolio Committees will be expected to oversee the progress with regard to implementation. I must say I was impressed by the Task Groups discipline in tolerating suggestions, which challenged party positions. Even though ultimately issues, which cut across government policy, had to be rejected, the task group at least appeared to consider their relevance.

Recommendations focusing on the Criminal Justice System are particularly encouraging in light of our experiences as a party, working with rape and abuse victims in communities. A major concern however is whether recommendations will result in much needed trained counselors being placed at police charge desks, as it is critical for Aids trained and sympathetic counselors to be at the point of rescue, where a case is made or blown. ACDP’s head of Social Action Desks in KZN has successfully introduced “Bobby Bear” into many police stations. This very special bear has multiple tasks but most importantly a counselor with the help of “Bobby Bear” can have the forensic evidence necessary for a conviction in the case of child rape, within 10 minutes. We have to date only lost two cases out of almost 100 where “Bobby” has been used. We recommend this approach and hope departments will fund this project, which accurately addresses the need.

Childline is presently not able or geared to meet the needs for counseling and protecting abused children and additional resources must be found. I am also pleased to see that the Task Group did not ignore alcohol, adult porn or life skills although these subjects made them decidedly uncomfortable they dared to make minor recommendations. They even recommended that legislation which deals with conditions of bail, be amended to include the rape of boys under 16 and that sexual relations with a male under the age of 16 years be criminalized as statutory rape. I was astounded!

When it came to discussions around statutory rape in general however, members got extremely agitated. I reminded the Task Group that statutory rape is not being reported by TOP or abortion facilities, and that because there is no limit on the age of children who can access these facilities without parental consent or knowledge, abusers are able to send children to TOP facilities for abortions and contraception so that the abuse can continue without consequences for themselves. The Task Group refused to comment in the report on reporting of statutory rape as they said it would impact on access to abortion, which they pointed out is legal, and as far as the Task Group is concerned, untouchable. They refused to consider an age restriction for children accessing abortion clinics without parental consent or knowledge and were not concerned that children as young as 11years are confidentially aborting babies and receiving contraception so that the abuse can continue. In fact certain members did not feel statutory rape was rape at all.

Trafficking was another touchy issue, strangely enough, and members seriously doubted reports that trafficking was taking place in South Africa, and were skeptical about Molo Songololo’s report which stated that:
South Africa’s child sex industry is one of the fastest growing and most lucrative criminal enterprises in the world, with estimated profits of about 12 billion dollars.
Economically desperate and sometimes abusive parents sell children as young as four to local and foreign syndicates who force them into the sex trade.
There are 38 000 child prostitutes in South Africa.
Cape Town is fast becoming the world’s top sex tourism destination, and welfare organizations fear that the country may emerge as a safe haven for “sex tourism”.
These fears are not unfounded considering the ANC, DP and NNP support for “sex tourism” as witnessed when they collectively blocked ACDP proposals against “sex tourism” in the Cape Town Unicity last year.

The June 2002 official US Government “Trafficking in persons report” listed South Africa as a destination and transit country, and reported that women were trafficked internally. The report said traffickers advertise in local newspapers offering good jobs at high pay in exciting cities. They also use fraudulent employment, travel, modeling and matchmaking agencies to lure young men and women. In local villages they pose as a friend of a friend and mislead parents into believing that their children will be taught a useful skill or trade, or that they will marry their daughters. Sometimes children are abducted or kidnapped.

Children are inherently valuable as human beings because they are made in God’s image. In South Africa however, the value of children is measured by whether or not they are wanted. Abortion is the ultimate child abuse and by allowing and even promoting, the termination of unborn children as a “woman’s right”, the protective role society should play towards little ones is undermined.

The ACDP calls on government to scrap the 1997 CTOP Act and revise the Constitution to ensure that a child’s right to life is protected by the law, from conception.

Government is making a lot of noise about moral regeneration and even appeals to churches to help but consistently undermines any efforts with subversive legislation and policies. Unfortunately the usefulness of this report will also be limited, if only politically acceptable solutions are contemplated. Discipline for example, being taboo for children, and criminals having more rights than law-abiding citizens.

The report refers to children as “our most valuable resource for the future of our country” and Government has put our future into the hands of organizations like Lovelife and PPASA, who are proudly anti-family, pro-abortion, pro-licentious sex and deviant life styles. They are committed to promoting oral sex as positive behaviour for children and youth regardless of the risks. Expecting children to have sex and seducing them with licentious talk entraps them and it is an insult to those children committed to abstinence. Government themselves have been seduced by Lovelife and Planned Parenthood who have become untouchable.

Adult pornography is also legal and defended by the Task Group in the name of free speech. Yet children, because they are small and can be easily intimidated and manipulated, fall victim to those who have been aroused by adult porn and not just child porn. SAPS records show that child rape has increased…. Over 400% since pornography was legalized in 1996.

One example is a recent case in South Africa where a father was arrested in a room full of adult pornography for sexually abusing his young stepdaughters.
· FBI investigations, plus records of many law enforcement agencies, testify that pornographic materials are “found data” in large numbers of “lust murders”, auto-erotic fantasies, mutilations, rapes and ravages of women and children.
· A study of 114 rapists convinced sociologist, Diana Scully, that scenes depicted in porn are duplicated in the rapist’s crimes.
· Police also find such materials intimately connected with recruitment and abduction of children into prostitution and pornography rings.
· Vice Squads report 77 percent of boy molesters and 87 percent of girl molesters admit patterning their actions after pornographic materials.

The DP quoted statistics proving the damage done by adult porn and yet they’re responsible for its legalisation and protection. And they used child porn as a red hearing.

The facts are clear. Pornography desensitises, removes inhibitions and undermines moral restraints. Pornography is addictive, progressive and dangerous. Pornography is not freedom of expression. It is the abuse of freedom for degradation and exploitation, and children are prime victims. The present breakdown of moral standards, the increase in lawlessness and break-up of families is related. Pornography is hostile to law and morality.

The ACDP calls on government to make both the sale and the possession of all pornography illegal, give the Film and Publication Board the power to preview potentially pornographic material, and prevent it from getting into circulation and close down adult/pornographic stores and destroy the stocks of pornographic videos and magazines.

We pray for the sake of our children that this report will at least go some way in bringing about a change in the present situation and for this reason the ACDP will support the report. The ANC would like me to bring you a poem or light a candle but poems and candles will not cut it!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For further comment please call Cheryllyn Dudley MP at 082 890 6520 or ACDP Media Liaison Liza Bloemetje at 082 478 1037