Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced that a public register of convicted sexual offenders and gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrators will be made available by March 2025.
Minister Kubayi made this announcement during her address at the Kgalema Motlanthe Foundation’s 365 Days Against GBV Awareness Campaign. The initiative aims to combat GBV and femicide.
As I got into the portfolio, one of the issues that was reported was the need for us as a department to release the register, to make it public… for those who have been sentenced and convicted of gender-based violence, to protect our children. I have agreed that we will be able to release this, and my timeframe is before the end of February 2025. The register will be public.
Last year, a study conducted by the National Association of School Governing Bodies (NASGB) found that more than 16,000 teachers in South Africa have a criminal record. Offences include rape, murder, assault, theft, robbery, fraud, drug-related crimes, housebreaking, and serious road infringements.
Following the release of the study, Action Society petitioned for the National Register for Sex Offenders to be made public. They expressed concern that many parents leave their young children at school, believing it to be a place of safety.
We trust these people not only to educate our children but to keep them safe, and now, even these institutions pose a risk to their safety and wellbeing.
Stakeholders Welcome Minister’s Decision
Juanita du Preez, spokesperson for Action Society, believes that making the sex offenders register public is essential to protecting victims from predators.
Publishing the register for sexual offenders will be a big step in the right direction. Predators don’t deserve privacy.
Du Preez added that while they hope people are not wrongfully convicted, South Africans must trust that the criminal justice system will function as it should.
If our criminal justice system is working as it should, then we hope that people will trust that somebody will get their punishment as prescribed in a community according to the laws of the country and that we, as individuals, don’t have to step in and punish someone for a crime they committed.
Concerns About Effectiveness
Research professor Lisa Vetten argues that while the publication of the registry is well-intentioned, it is not the most effective measure to address GBV in South Africa.
Vetten noted that only 9% of reported rapes result in convictions, meaning most offenders will not appear on the register. Many cases of sexual assault are handled through disciplinary hearings rather than courts, which could limit the register’s impact.
Many sexual offences might go through a university disciplinary tribunal, a workplace disciplinary hearing, or school disciplinary tribunals… those are matters where somebody might be found guilty, but they will never end up on the sex offenders register.
Vetten suggested that instead of publishing the register, the government should focus on improving law enforcement, court efficiency, and survivor support systems.
She also raised concerns about the legal framework for public access to the register, the backlog of cases, and its integration with existing child protection registers.
The law says you may not disclose [information] except [to] people who are seeking information about those who are applying for jobs.
Vetten warned that the initiative might be ineffective without careful planning and legislative changes. "It might be much better to take this through on a longer-term basis, move more slowly, and work from evidence that tells us what works and what doesn’t."
