Baby rape: why does the law not protect them?

Abstract

South African society has recently been confronted by an escalation of baby- and child-rape incidences which cry out for legal intervention. Research has shown that an innovative, multidisciplinary approach is called for to protect babies and young children as victims of violent crime in their quest for justice during investigation and subsequent legal process. Reference is made to the obstacles in the existing legal system confronting these victims, and the proposals of the S A Law Commission to address these shortcomings. A warning is sounded that the mere amendment of the law, extensive though it may be, will remain paper law without the means to implement investigation teams and special courts, supported by the necessary expertise, to investigate and adjudicate cases of this nature. To provide access in remote areas, the institution of special courts operating on a regional basis as circuit courts ought to be considered.