Locking up Rapist would not solve the basic problem of GBV- retired Judge Cameron

“I can say this with complete assurance, the length of sentence has no impact-Edwin Cameron

Retired Constitutional Court judge, Edwin Cameron said that taking rapists and men guilty of gender-based violence to jail would not solve the underlying problem of the violence against women and children.

He said the legal process is an essential part of teaching men that women are not objects, and should not be violated but, it is not enough.

He said this while speaking during a webinar hosted by the University of Johannesburg on Thursday afternoon, titled “Reflections of a retired judge on transformative Constitutionalism”,

“I can say this with complete assurance, the length of sentence has no impact. It’s the certainty of prosecution, the certainty of arraignment and the certainty of sentencing, not how long,” he said.

Cameron provided a solution that “we’ve got to set the example at community level about how women ought to be respected, honoured, valued and not trampled upon.”

“It is a long process in which the law has a role, but in which wrong sentences and throwing away keys has no constructive role.”

As a result of the rise in violence against women and children, President Cyril Ramaphosa in September 2019 announced a five-point emergency plan to put a halt to gender-based violence in a joint sitting of Parliament.

They are prevention, strengthening the criminal justice system, enhancing the legal and policy framework, ensuring adequate care, support and healing for victims of violence, and strengthening the economic power of women.