Political parties expressed outrage on Monday over government’s decision to remove a clause from the draft Sexual Offences Bill that obliges it to provide rape survivors with prophylactic drugs to prevent them from contracting Aids.
It represented yet another example of government going back on its word regarding the treatment of Aids, Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson Sheila Camerer said in a statement.
The DA would ”fight tooth and nail” in the justice portfolio committee ‒ to which the bill would be submitted this week — to reinstate the clause.
”There is no doubt that on the basis of principle — of government’s previous undertaking to fight crime, assist rape survivors, secure convictions, and to protect women and children from violence, not to mention humanitarian considerations and the health of our nation — the clause should remain in the Bill,” she said.
Helping those who had been raped through the provision of prophylactic drugs was to have been part of a package to curb rape and minimise its evil effects.
”For the government to claim that it cannot officially afford to budget for treatment is a travesty of good governance, and a lie.
”In the asset recovery account, in which forfeited proceeds of crime are deposited by the Scorpions and the Asset Forfeiture Unit, lies more than R27-million.
”The purpose of this account is to fight crime and assist victims of crime. Not a cent has yet been paid out.
”The provision of anti-retrovirals to rape survivors is exactly the kind of thing on which this money should be spent,” Camerer said.
In a separate statement, New National Party (NNP) spokesperson Carol Johnson asked whether government was saying the lives of rape victims were not worth R200.
To provide the preventative medication only cost R200 a victim; in some cases, even less.
”So, in practical terms, if a woman is raped by a person who is HIV- positive and does not receive the required treatment, it could amount to murder.
”Clearly the government does not realise that it has not only a moral but also a legal duty of care towards its citizens.”
Johnson said the NNP would also raise the issue in the committee.
”There are 54 000 reported rapes in South Africa per year and as many as 1,6-million actual rapes. The government owes it to these women that they are properly treated and that they receive the necessary medication,” she said. – Sapa