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Amy McLean-Banks
LLB First Year
2020
CRIMINOLOGY:SECTION B
Theme 2: Sexual Crimes
Key
Legislation
Case Law
Articles
Important
Definitions
Terms
Introduction
- South Africa faces a globally unparalleled problem of violence
- Females are usually viewed as the victims
o Males as the perpetrators of sexual offences
- The victimisation vulnerability of men should not be negated
- Men in correctional facilities find themselves especially vulnerable to sexual violence
- The prevalence of the commission of sexual offences in our society is primarily a social phenomenon
o Which is reflective of deep-seated, systemic dysfunctionality in our society
Definitions
Corrective rape
- A crime where a man rapes a lesbian woman in order to alter her sexual orientation
Rape
- Occurs when an individual intentionally and unlawfully penetrates another individual without consent
Sexual assault
- Occurs when an individual intentionally and unlawfully commits a sexual violation against another individual
without consent
The aetiology of sex offending
- Refers to the causes or origins of deviant sexual behaviour
Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007)
Preamble
- “The prevalence of the commission of sexual offences in our society is primarily a social phenomenon, which
is reflective of deep-seated, systemic dysfunctionality in our society.”
Extent of sexual crimes
Average of 114 rapes recorded every day
Average of 7437 sexual assault cases reported
Only 1 in 9 cases of rape are reported in South Africa
When cases are reported
- Many cases never complete the full justice cycle and insufficient action is taken to address the rape complaint
In Diepsloot
- 500 cases reported
o Only 1 brought to justice
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,Amy McLean-Banks
LLB First Year
2020
The reinstatement of the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) units
- Made a positive effect on the prosecution of sexual offences
- As a result
o More than 659 life sentences have been imposed
o 3718 people have been convicted and sentenced to a total of 51 631 years between 2011 to 2014
Aetiology of sexual offending: Individual factors Aetiology
Aetiology of sexual offending
- Causes or origins of deviant sexual behaviour the cause, set of causes, or
manner of causation of a
Woman disease or condition.
- Often seen as victim
- Have specific vulnerabilities
o Sexual victimisation
o Domestic violence
Men
- Often viewed as perpetrator
- In correctional facilities
o Find themselves vulnerable to sexual violence
▪ As often forced to have sexual intercourse
- Women who sexually violate men have been on the rise
Low self esteem:
- Contributing factor to sexual offending
- Sexual offenders generally have a low self-esteem
- May be a precursor to sexual offending
o That may hamper sexual offenders progress in intervention programmes
- Individuals with a low self-esteem
o Usually preoccupied with their own limitations
o Do not have sufficient emotional energy reserves to be concerned with other people’s feelings
- Individuals with a low self-esteem and limited self-confidence will be so involved with fulfilling their own
needs
o Might ignore the feelings of other individuals in order to succeed at their own goals and aspirations
- Low self-esteem can be
o Reaction to being caught and/or punished or stigmatise
o A lingering problem that already presented in childhood and is displayed throughout individual’s life
Empathy deficits:
- Lack of empathy can be a result of childhood attachment insecurity
- Attachment deficit
o Can also be a contributing factor to adolescents’ failure to develop intimate relationships with peers
▪ Might be conducive to deviant sexual behaviour
- Sex offenders do not
o Recognise and have compassion with the victim’s distress to such an extent that they can become
sexually aroused while committing the offence
- Many males that do not commit rape are inhibited by empathy for the potential victim
- Sex offenders frequently deny their offences and minimise the harm that the victim suffered
o Lack of empathy
2
, Amy McLean-Banks
LLB First Year
2020
- Offenders deny and/or minimise their sexual transgressions due to an attempt to distance themselves from
their misbehaviour
o In these instances offenders are aware of the wrongfulness of their sexual offending on some level
▪ They are trying to make up excuses for their actions
- Whereas others who do not try justify their misbehaviour genuinely believe that their actions were acceptable
- They rationalise their behaviour and argue their actions were not criminal
- Deniers and admitters
o Deniers
▪ Usually blamed their victims and provided the following justifications for their behaviour:
• The victim seduced them
• Women who say no, actually mean yes
• Most women eventually enjoy the sexual interaction and relax after a while
• Good girls do not become victims of rape
• The victim was not harmed physically, so the act was a minor transgression victim
• Did not resist and actually wanted to have sexual intercourse.
• Just-world hypothesis
o Good things happen to good people
o Bad things happen to bad people
o Get what they deserve and deserve what they get
▪ Statistics
• 31% - victim initiated sexual act
• 22% - victim did not resist and actually wanted to have sexual intercourse
• 69% - good girls do not become victim of rape
• Most – victim was willing and enjoyed sexual encounter
• Would suggest that victims should not
o Go to a bar alone
o Not hitchhike
o Dress promiscuously
▪ Behaviour is fundamentally against all imperatives of equality and does not belong in a
democratic dispensation
- Male youth sex offenders – research
o Not their intention to hurt the victim
o Felt bad for what they did
o Acknowledge that they were unaware of the fact they were hurting their victims and knew their
behaviour was unacceptable
o Younger than 12 years and committed less serious offences
▪ Naïve experimenters who did not plan to hurt their victims
o Went to the Teddy Bear clinic
▪ Might have had an influence on their recognition of their behaviour as harmful towards the
victims
- Male sex offenders who committed their offences against child victims – research
o Most did not have any remorse pertaining to the offence they committed
o Some indicated they did have some remorse
o Almost half denied having any specific feelings towards their victim
o were younger that 25 years old at the time
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