South Africa

Certain sections of the long-awaited Sexual Offences Act finally came into operation this week. They deal mainly with statutory sexual offences relating to assault, exploitation, trafficking and child pornography.

Certain sections of the long-awaited Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, No. 32 of 2007, came into effect on the 16th of December 2007 after being signed into law by President Thabo Mbeki. Section 72 of the Act provides for the implementation of Chapters 1 to 4 and 7, which mainly deal with the creation of statutory sexual offences, special protection measures for children and persons who are mentally disabled, certain transitional arrangements and evidencerelated matters. The Act will help intensify South Africa's efforts to fight sexual crimes against all persons and, especially, sexual offences being committed against vulnerable groups, including women, children and people who are mentally disabled.

If the involvement of children in crime is under discussion, one can distinguish between crimes by children and crimes  against children. Crimes committed by children (delinquents) are investigated by the relevant unit, for example the Vehicle Theft Unit, Detective Branch, etc. 

The need to establish a unit within the South African Police Service to prevent and combat crimes against children, was identified during 1986. The primary task of the Child Protection Unit is to render a sensitive service endearing to the child victim.

The movie The Kite Runner may inspire many South Africans to dust off their childhood kites and let them loose over the rooftops of their neighbourhoods. Frivolous fun, reminiscent of carefree days and not hurting anyone? Well, not if you are a Johannesburg resident.

Child rights advocacy groups will be lobbying for a change in certain aspects of the new Sexual Offences Act, through either case law or amendments.

But they point out that for the change to take place through amendments, there would have to be political will.

The Act, which was passed on December 13, makes changes to the definition of what constitutes rape and includes a sexual offender register, but child rights groups say the Act has done little to increase protective measures available in the court system.

This is a collection of papers presented at the Harold Wolpe Trust's Colloquium on Masculinities, Crime and Violence. Elaine Salo, of the  African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town, presents:  ‘Ek’s ʼn ou’: The social and cultural construction of masculinities in Manenberg on the Cape Flats. Sasha Gear, from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)presented "Productions of sex, gender and violence in South African men’s prisons" while Adelene Africa, from the Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town looked at "Violent women: Findings from a Sample of Female Offenders".

Imagine watching a sporting event and being able to see the sweat trickling down the faces of the players. This no longer has to be a dream as the reality, in the form of high-definition television (HDTV), is here.

Andre Coetzee, national trainer and customer care consultant at Philips South Africa, said that anyone who has been in the market recently to buy a new television will have heard the term HDTV.

"Consumers are constantly bombarded with technical jargon that often seems meaningless, however, this is one buzz- word that as a consumer, you need to pay attention to.

HOPES that greater competition and lower prices would finally stir up the long-stifled telecommunications sector have been quashed unexpectedly by Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri.

The minister has chosen to challenge a judgment giving hundreds of companies the right to build their own networks instead of having to rent from Telkom, Neotel or a cellular operator. That ruling, on an application by Altech, had been hailed as a massive but belated leap towards liberalisation.

This link provides a useful list of organisations that work with HIV/AIDS related issues.