Embrace Project prepares for landmark hearing at ConCourt to change parts of Sexual Offences Act

An anti-gender-based violence (GBV) organisation, the Embrace Project, is calling for justice for victims of sexual abuse as it prepares for another landmark hearing at the Constitutional Court to change parts of the Sexual Offences Act.

This upcoming hearing stems from a long battle to reform South Africa’s approach to sexual offences, particularly how consent is treated in court.

The Pretoria High Court previously ruled that some parts of the act that view consent as subjective are unconstitutional.

The NGO and a rape survivor took the Minister of Justice to court in 2021, arguing that the Sexual Offences Act allows perpetrators of sexual violence to argue that they believe there was consent, even if there wasn't.

READ: 'Believed consent' can no longer be used as a defence, rules court

Director at Embrace Project Lee-Anne Germanos said there have been many cases where justice has been denied, including instances where the courts favour the perpetrator of rape who said the victim’s silence could be seen as consent.

"She couldn’t find the perpetrator guilty of rape because the State couldn’t prove without reasonable doubt that he had intended to rape her, in other words, because she failed to express outward resistance either verbal or show it, the court had to believe the perpetrator’s version."

In 2024, the organisation scored a victory in the Pretoria High Court that ruled that some parts of the act were unconstitutional.

This week, the Constitutional Court must confirm or reject the ruling for it to take full effect.