KAAPSE Gender-Based Violence activist Caroline Peters is taking the fight to name and shame sex offenders to the courts

The “no-name law” – which makes it a criminal offense to name sexual offence suspects before they have pleaded – will come under the judicial spotlight this week during a constitutional challenge in the Western Cape High Court.

Section 154(2)(b) of the Criminal Procedure will especially come under scrutiny as it concerns the prohibition against the publication of any information relating to a charge involving a sexual offence before the accused has pleaded.

Section 335A, which concerns the prohibition against publishing the identity of victims, will also be addressed. As things stand, naming an accused in a sexual-related charge before pleadings are concluded in court is punishable with a fine or an up to three-year jail sentence.

The Minister of Justice, Nkhensani Kubayi, named as a respondent in the matter, is defending the law in as far as it prohibits the naming of a sexual offences suspect, as she argues that this protects the identity of victims, who are often family members. 

The minister, however, conceded that the law protecting the identities of victims does not have to remain on the law books if the victims themselves wish to be identified.

The application is sparked by GVB activist Caroline Peters, who is challenging the constitutional validity of the two sections of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA). She is turning to court with the assistance of the Women’s Legal Centre.

The Centre will further argue that the sections of the Act are against the Constitution because it criminalises the publication of any information that might reveal the identity of a victim of a sexual offence, even where such victim voluntarily discloses her own identity or authorises another person to do so.

But Peters said, ironically, the need for such protection reinforces and perpetuates the stereotypes that being a victim of sexual violence is indeed something about which to be ashamed and hidden from the public.

She said: “Victims of sexual violence also need to feel heard, believed, and supported by communities and the criminal justice system.”