“We can almost imagine the sound of the slamming of the prison doors as the two teenagers accused of raping young Jasmine* were handed down a sentence of five years direct imprisonment at the Mitchell’s Plain Magistrates Court. This was a massive victory for us, and the people of Mitchells Plain can sleep soundly at night knowing those two will remain behind bars.” Those were the words of Head of Action Society’s Action Centre in the Western Cape, Kaylynn Palm.
The sentencing, however, should not distract us from the fact this case was postponed more than ten times since it first went to court in 2020. Numerous problems such as faulty equipment in the Sexual Offences Court and load-shedding, meant justice was delayed and Jasmine had to relive the trauma of seeing her rapists over and over again. We continued to ramp up the pressure and our first victory came in October 2023 when we got a guilty verdict from the judge.
“A major victory like this shows our hard work is paying off, and that we are making a difference, and will compel us to continue to fight for victims of sexual violence who have no one else that can help them,” concluded Palm.
Jasmine was raped by two teenage boys in 2020 at one of the suspect’s grandmother’s house. She was deeply scarred and traumatised by the event and has been homeschooled ever since.
