ABSTRACT
South Africa has amongst the highest levels of sexual violence in the world (Baden et al. 1998: 34; Albertyn et al. 2007: 301). The devastating effect of sexual violence on women and children has been recognized by the state, and in 1996 the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) was mandated to investigate sexual violence against children. This mandate was later extended to adults, with a complete overhaul of the criminal justice system envisaged, and much attention given to the substantive definition of rape (Naylor 2008: 42). This 11-year law reform process resulted in the Sexual Offences Act (Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007) (hereafter ‘the Act’), which was passed into law at the end of 2007.
