Claim of false rape accusation on social media

AN Empangeni man is unable to show his face in public after he claims his ex-girlfriend falsely accused him of rape on social media.

The man, who does not have a criminal case against him, told the ZO that two weeks ago he slept with his former girlfriend after a night of drinking. ‘Her current boyfriend found out about it the next day and she lied by saying she only spent the night with me because she was forced to.

She said that I raped her that night and since then, she has been posting my photos on social media, calling me a rapist.’ Violence against women has been trending in media reports and on social media after a 19-year-old University of Cape Town student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, was raped and murdered in a post office by an employee.

Her murder sparked nationwide outrage and drove women to platforms such as Twitter, where they shared their own stories of sexual abuse under the hashtag #Metoo.

The movement escalated when many women named and shamed their perpetrators. Caxton media group’s legal adviser, Helene Eloff, warns however that naming a sex offender online could have serious legal ramifications. ‘South Africans think that it is okay to name a perpetrator online, but if you do that you might cause yourself lots of harm.

If someone has done this to you, the last thing you need is more legal drama.’ Aside from defamation, Eloff said that justice cannot be guaranteed from social media posts. ‘I get that we need to expose rapists and sex offenders, but what is the public interest in naming and shaming someone online?

How does that guarantee justice when I compare it to reporting the crime to the police and prosecutor? ‘People who share posts implicating someone in a sex offence, can also be held liable. ‘If you identify someone on social media as a sex offender and you cannot prove your statement, you can end up in legal trouble,’ Eloff said.

‘You can be held accountable for unjustifiable defamation. And another thing, if you retweet or share such a post you are as liable as the author. ‘In South Africa, criminal cases must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sex offence allegations are serious and police have the skills and tools to investigate them. ‘Once a perpetrator has been convicted, then, by all means, post it on social media because then you can prove that it is the truth.’

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