There is a need to revisit South Africa's law on rape law so as to reverse the burden of proof in rape cases to make defendants the ones who have to prove their innocence, says Deputy Minister of Communications Pinky Kekana.

This will ease the trauma which victims of rape have to endure in having to report and eventually prove their case in a court of law, Kekana said during a dialogue on gender at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town on Wednesday night, ahead of the country’s official Women’s Day commemorations yesterday.

The panel discussion, which was hosted by the Department of Arts and Culture and broadcast live, was held in tribute to struggle icon Mama Albertina Sisulu in reflection of her life, her contribution to the freedom struggle and to gender equality.

Kekana said the dialogue sessions on gender issues were very important and that if the conversation is not sustained, the country “will mourn the death of women in the country”.

“It is high time we, as women, take a radical stance on this matter and I am of the opinion that we need to legislate the reverse owner's principle,” she said.

“If we concede that our society is inherently patriarchal, then we will understand that even the judicial system, in its current form, does not defend or protect the vulnerable.

“So it means we have to go back to legislation to say it is women who always get tried after they have been raped, instead of men, who should explain themselves on why they did this." -

- Bernama-NNN-SA News