According to a report by The Times , of the 62 647 sexual offences cases that were reported to the police from 2013 to 2014, only 5 484 resulted in convictions.
The issue of rape has been under the spotlight recently with the arrest of Nelson Mandela’s grandson for allegedly raping a minor in Greenside on 7 August.
A report entitled Health and Police Services to Sexual Offences Victims suggests that the processing of rape cases is often “inconsistent and riddled with problems”.
The report claims that if prosecutors feel that a case is not strong enough, they do not proceed with it.
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An official of the National Prosecuting Authority, who is cited in the report said, “If there is no corroborating evidence then it becomes a case of his word against her word.”
The report, by independent researcher, Joy Watson said that the odds are stacked heavily against rape survivors in their quest for justice.
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Police, prosecutors, forensic doctors and other experts were interviewed in the report and said that police are “inefficient and negligent” in collecting evidence, making the quality of detective work “generally poor”.
The interviews also revealed that if the perpetrator is unknown to the victim, detectives have only 2 percent chance of finding him or her.
CLICK HERE to read the full report from The Times
