Parliament has raised alarm over child sexual abuse in South Africa, highlighting that only 8.6% of rape cases result in a guilty verdict.
South Africa’s fight against sexual violence against children remains critically weakened by low reporting and an even lower rate of convictions, Parliament has warned during National Child Protection Week.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development, Bridget Masango, has called on communities to break their silence on abuse, saying the country “cannot continue to look away while children are abused by people they know and trust.”
The committee warned that the justice system continues to fail survivors of sexual violence, with only a fraction of cases ending in conviction.
“In the 2022/2023 financial year, more than 43 000 rape cases were recorded in South Africa. About 10 590 of those cases involved children under the age of 18,” Masango said.
