Action Society supported the victim of the Photographer rapist in the Paarl Magistrates Court in the Western Cape yesterday, where the case was postponed for the fifth time – this time because the legal team for the defence didn’t show up at court.
The 19 year old victim, who wanted to follow a modelling career was targeted by the Photographer rapist in October 2021 under the ruse of a photoshoot to further her modelling portfolio. The attacker lured her to a secluded area where he drugged and raped her.
According to Kaylynn Palm, Action Centre Coordinator at Action Society, the message to victims of sexual and domestic abuse crimes, is that their attack isn’t taken seriously by the police, that the prosecution of their attackers is not urgent and that their safety isn’t a priority.
“They are revictimised time and time again by a failing system. The family of the victim called on Action Society for help last year after almost a year had passed with no movement on the investigation. Action Society proceeded to do a proper investigation, and tracked the attacker down, resulting in his arrest in February this year. For more than a year, this young victim lived in fear of her life, feeling unheard. Until now, the victim still hasn’t had the opportunity to have her say in court, with the case once again being postponed this week.”
Palm noted that sexual abuse is increasing at an alarming rate. “Sexual offences increased with more than 1 000 cases to 53 125 over the past year, and over 10 000 rape cases were opened between July and September 2022. Our mission is to take women who fall victim to any form of abuse from victim to victor by standing by them in the pursuit of justice. Whether that is through independent investigations and even tracking down the criminals ourselves, we will not stop until justice is served.”
“It is time that police officers are held accountable for the way they treat victims of sexual and domestic violence crimes. They need to protect the victims from further harm by prioritising investigations and building strong cases to avoid perpetrators ending up back on the street on bail and in the position to escalate their violence, often on the same victims.”
