Action Society’s years of submissions and public campaigns demanding that the National Registry of Sex Offenders (NRSO) be available to the public have paid off after the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, announced that the NRSO will be published and available to the public by the end of February 2025.
“Until now, in South Africa, parents had no way to check if the people they trust with their children have a history of sexual crimes. That is going to change now. Action Society’s argument has always been that privacy laws shouldn’t protect perpetrators of sexual crimes, and we are pleased that the pressure has paid off,” said Juanita du Preez, Action Society spokesperson.
Research about paedophiles shows that a child predator often has hundreds of victims before they are caught and convicted, and in South Africa, the conviction rates of these crimes are notoriously low because the children who fall prey to these monsters are often too young to testify in court. Parents should be aware of the potential danger when entrusting their children to any adult. Going forward, one way will be to check the NRSO for anyone you will be entrusting your child with.
In one of our tragic cases, a happy little four-year-old’s life was broken apart by a sexual predator. Like most, she enjoyed going to preschool every day. But that all changed when the co-owner of the creche, the man who drove her to and from school every day, showed his true colours and raped her in the vehicle they were driving. Poppy* has now lost her joy in life and cries because of the horrible trauma she had to endure. She has been forced to grow up far beyond her four years old.
“The publication of the NRSO means that child predators, after their conviction, will now be known to the public and will never again be in the position to work with children,” said Du Preez. “We applaud the Minister for hearing our calls and taking the safety of children seriously.”
