Cape Town - Out of 3 697 criminal cases of child neglect and abuse against parents or caregivers, only 35 people have been imprisoned nationally from January 2012 to October 2022.
Sixty-six cases are under police investigation in the Western Cape, while 31 cases in the province are awaiting trial in the period under review.
This was according to Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola, who responded this week to DA MP Alexandra Abrahams’ written questions about the total number of cases of child neglect and abuse before the children’s courts since 2012.
Her questions focused on the conviction rate, dismissals or acquittals as a result of poor and/or incomplete investigations by social workers, the number of cases which had been withdrawn by the victim or his/her family, suspects who are awaiting trial and sentencing, and cases still being investigated in each province.
Lamola said nationally there had been 3 467 cases of child neglect and abuse since January 2012.
Of these, 2 407 had been withdrawn; 35 ended in prison sentences; 981 categorised as “other sentences”; five fine options; 30 cases struck off the roll; and nine acquittals.
Molo Songololo director Patric Solomons described the figures as a “shocking revelation” and “justice for children denied”.
“It is even more upsetting to hear that of this number, only 35 parents or caregivers were imprisoned, and only 66 cases are under investigation in the Western Cape, and 31 cases are awaiting trial,” Solomons said.
SA Human Rights provincial commissioner Chris Nissen said the number of withdrawn cases was “completely unacceptable” and a “violation” of children’s rights.
He said the police needed to up their game on investigations and would engage the incoming commissioner about the issue in the new year.
In the Optimus Foundation Study’s 2016 report, researchers focused on 9 717 teenagers aged between 15 and 17 years.
It was found that more than 40% of youngsters had experienced some form of sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse or neglect at one point or another in their lives.
The Western Cape, which has had 570 cases since 2012, is joint second with the Northern Cape for the most cases that have been withdrawn, at 470 apiece.
The Western Cape had no acquittals; two cases struck off the roll; no-fine options; only five imprisonment sentences; along with 83 other sentences.
Gauteng saw 375 withdrawn cases from a total of 578 child neglect and abuse cases since 2012.
KwaZulu-Natal had the fewest cases, at 197, and also the least withdrawn cases, at 132.
Lamola said the cases were not withdrawn at the behest of victims. He cited the Criminal Procedure Act of 1977 as only allowing the State to drop a case.
“It is for this reason that the ICMS (Integrated Case Management System) does not capture withdrawal of charges made by the victim or victim’s family,” Lamola said. The ICMS is a repository used by the courts to track cases.
The Western Cape has had the second most awaiting-trial cases since 2012, with 31 cases.
“Cases that get reported and where criminal inquiries, charges and prosecutions are made, pale in comparison with the perceived high incidence of these kinds of crimes against children,” said Solomons.
He said this could indicate that Lamola’s statistics were questionable.
He said data collated by the Social Development Department does not correlate with Lamola’s figures, suggesting that many cases are not referred for criminal prosecution.
soyiso.maliti@inl.co.za