Law legalising consenting sex between adolescents gets the thumbs up
JOBURG - The Teddy Bear Clinic and other children’s rights organisations applauded changes to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Bill which were adopted by the National Assembly last month among which is allowing consenting sex between adolescents.
The National Assembly unanimously supported the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Bill which deals with the highly controversial decriminalisation of consenting sex between adolescents, as well as the placement of the names of child sex offenders on the sex offender register.
The bill was referred to the National Council of Provinces for Concurrence without any objections from political parties in the National Assembly. The bill allows that children between the ages of 12 and 16 can consent to sexual acts with each other.
Shaheda Omar, Teddy Bear Clinic clinical director, said the amendment was a major victory in promoting and protecting children’s rights. “This Bill has recognised that treating children as criminals is not the solution but was more harmful and counterproductive resulting in secondary trauma,” Omar said.
The clinical director said it also highlighted the important role of family and social institutions to educate children and empower and enable them to make informed positive choices around their sexuality. “Finally, punitive responses are not the answer, but transferring pro-social skills to children is a better solution,” Omar said.
Meanwhile, Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (Rapcan) member, Christina Nomdo, said the act was a call to action for parents, the State and children. “Parents must build closer relationships with their adolescents in order to influence their life choices. The State [needs] to provide more effective sex education and for adolescents to not only listen to their peers but also heed the advice of nurturing non-judgemental adults,” Nomdo said.
In a statement at the Centre for Child Law (University of Pretoria), their director, Professor Ann Skelton said, “Parliament’s decision is a vote for common sense.”
MPs were also at pains to explain that the bill did not aim to encourage adolescents to have sex, but recognised that treating them as criminals is not the correct solution.
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