Nonhlanhla says shortage of rape kits will hamper police’s ability to solve cases

The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Nonhlanhla Ncube-Ndaba, raised concerns over the lack of rape kits in police stations in a recent statement saying such occurrences will have a negative impact on solving rape cases.

“The shortage of rape kits at police stations will hamper the police’s ability to solve rape crimes, which inadvertently leads to the justice system failing rape survivors,” said Nonhlanhla.

Earlier this year, the SAPS was subpoenaed by the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) to account for the implementation of the recommendations arising from an initial investigative hearing held in 2018.

The CGE’s recommendations to the SAPS concerned the administration of DNA testing, especially in cases of domestic and gender-based violence (GBV), poor police enforcement of protection orders, and training for police officers on dealing with GBV cases.

“A rape victim’s suffering should not be compounded by the unavailability of rape kits,” said Nonhlanhla.

“My committee will monitor progress on implementing commitments made and agreed upon, as the SAPS previously made a commitment to resolve this issue.

“We call upon the CGE, with its full complement of commissioners, to ensure that the SAPS accounts for rape kit shortages and that all police stations are monitored to ascertain whether the kits are made available when needed.”

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