Compulsory HIV testing of child sex offenders in the South African criminal justice system
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Date
2017
Authors
Pienaar, L.
Karels, M. G.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Faculty of Law, University of the Free State
Abstract
The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters)
Amendment Act 32 of 2007 established unique procedural
mechanisms for the processing of sexual offence cases and for the
protection of victims. One such procedure relates to compulsory
HIV testing of an alleged offender on application by the victim or
a police official. This article is a theoretical exploration of Chapter
5 of the Sexual Offences Act, and the Children’s Act 38 of 2005 as
they pertain to HIV testing of children, juxtaposed against the Child
Justice Act 75 of 2008. The submission concedes that Chapter 5
of the Sexual Offences Act is applicable to child offenders. The
authors, however, argue that child offenders are procedurally
sui generis in the criminal justice process and resultantly the
prescripts of Chapter 5 of the Sexual Offences Act are at odds with
the position of a child offender within the protections of the Child
Justice Act, insofar as effective protection of the best interest
standard is concerned.
Description
Keywords
Criminal Law, Sexual Offences Act, Sex offenders, Criminal justice system, HIV testing
Citation
Pienaar, L., & Karels, M. G. (2017). Compulsory HIV testing of child sex offenders in the South African criminal justice system. Journal for Juridical Science, 42(1), 41-61.