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Assisting victims of sexual offences: Ensuring a professional service by the SAPS - how it affects medical practitioners

David Jan McQuoid-Mason

Abstract


The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act (SOA Act) requires the National Commissioner of Police to publish a National Instruction (the Instruction) to ensure that the SAPS provide a professional service to and assist victims of sexual offences. This has been issued and defines medical practitioners and nurses as persons registered respectively in terms of the Health Professions Act. The Instruction supplements the provisions of the SOA Act and provides guidance to police officers, district surgeons and others appointed by the DoH to conduct medical examinations on victims of sexual offences. It mainly applies where the victims have reported the matter to the police. When the victim approaches a private practitioner or designated public health establishment and chooses not to report the incident to the police, the ordinary provisions of the SOA Act apply. Although the Instruction deals primarily with the victim reporting the sexual offence to the police, it also provides valuable information for medical practitioners treating victims who do not wish to report the incident to the police. Therefore it is recommended that public and private health establishments and private sector medical practitioners who may be consulted by the victims of sexual offences should have copies of the Instruction and its Annexures available for consultation.

Author's affiliations

David Jan McQuoid-Mason, University of KwaZulu-Natal

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Keywords

National Instruction; Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act of 2007; Sexual offences; Victims of sexual offences; Sexual offenders; Medical examinations; Police; Forensic samples

Cite this article

South African Medical Journal 2009;99(10):702.

Article History

Date submitted: 2009-06-09
Date published: 2009-09-30

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