Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
25 February 2025 | 13:26 CAT
2-minute read

Image: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development

The Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development has confirmed that the National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) will be published and made available to the public by the end of February 2025. The NRSO is a list of names of people who have been found guilty of sexual offenses and is intended to protect children and other vulnerable members of society. The decision has been met with both support and caution, with experts questioning its ability to make a significant contribution to the fight against child abuse.

The details surrounding public access to the register remain unclear, as the Minister has yet to outline regulations or policies governing its use, Child Rights Expert Joan van Niekerk said during an interview on Radio Islam International.

Experts say that while the decision is a step in the right direction, the list of 32 501 names alone cannot combat the scourge.

“A register is not going to protect our children on its own,” van Niekerk said, explained. “One has to look at other ways of protecting our children. We have to look at parental and caregiver supervision. We have to look at guarding our children from going into situations in which there could possibly be a danger of any kind of assault, let alone sexual assault,” she added.

There is an urgent need to educate children, particularly concerning safety measures for accessing the Internet, where many children are unwittingly exposed to child sexual abuse images and fall prey to predators.

“We have to… make sure that their activities online are well supervised, that they don’t have access to material that is inappropriate for children, that we know where they are all the time, that they are only looked after in situations in which there are trusted adults. Even then, our children can be vulnerable,” van Niekerk emphasised.

One of the major challenges in combating sexual offenses is the low conviction rate and small percentage of cases that make it to trial after investigation. Approximately six percent of cases that reach court result in a conviction. Many cases are withdrawn due to victims being too traumatised or intimidated to testify, or because of insufficient evidence.

Making the register public could create a false sense of security, van Niekerk warned, adding that people whose names are not on the list may still pose a threat to children.

Despite the risks, she encouraged parents and guardians to remain vigilant and to seek therapeutic support for child victims of abuse. “Children have the capacity to heal,” she noted, emphasising that children can learn to cope with the right tools.

While the public release of the sex offender register marks a significant policy shift, experts agree that it should be seen as just one component in a broader strategy to protect South Africa’s children from harm.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.