Sexual offences act 'absurd': judge

He said this would make it an offence for children under 16 to be kissed on the mouth by family members when greeting. "This shows the absurdity [of some of the provisions of this act]," he said.

Under the act, any person who was aware of consensual sexual activities between children had to report them to the police or face prosecution. Judge Rabie further said it would be an administrative nightmare should a doctor see 10 to 15 teenage patients in hospital a night, where it emerged they had had sex and would need to be reported to the police, Times Live says.

According to Pretoria News, the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, supported by the Centre for Child Law, is challenging these provisions and asked Judge Pierre Rabie to declare them unconstitutional. They argue that, as a consequence of criminalising children for consensual sexual behaviour, children might not be able to access support and health care services when needed, fearing prosecution, humiliation and exposure to other offenders in the criminal justice system and sex offender programmes. The applicants said children even risked having their names included in the National Register for Sex Offenders. The justice minister and the National Director of Public Prosecutions are opposing the application. The trial continues.

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