Minister of Justice, Yvonne Dausab has proposed that first-time rape conviction should be increased from the current minimum five years to 10 years imprisonment in order to combat rape and send out a strong message to society.

Dausab said this on Tuesday in the National Assembly in the justice ministerial motivation during the tabling of the Combating of Rape Amendment Bill.

She said that the Namibian Police Force reported a total of 690 rape cases between January and August 2021, with a disproportionate impact on women and girls. Hence, it is important that courts impose heavy punishment for sexual violence so as to send out a strong message to society on the seriousness of the offence.

“Another important amendment that is being introduced is the increase of certain minimum sentences for rape. Statistics show that harsh and lengthy imprisonment sentences do not necessarily serve as deterrence for would-be offenders but it mitigates the impact. We should ensure as lawmakers that where an accused is convicted of rape, especially under coercive circumstances, he or she faces the full wrath of the law. As a nation, we should continue to find ways to prevent the increasing occurrence of rape and focus on rehabilitation of convicted offenders,” said Dausab.

She added that in a case where rape is committed under coercive circumstances, the sentence should be increased from a minimum of 10 to 15 years, with the bill also recognising that exceptionally vulnerable complainants referred to in the Combating of Rape Act of 2000 to now include persons with mental or physical disabilities.

“Accordingly, the bill is therefore increasing the sentence from a minimum of 15 to 20 years in respect of perpetrators who are found guilty of rape where the complainant has suffered grievous bodily or mental harm and is under the age of 13 years and is by reason of age exceptionally vulnerable,” Dausab stated further.

She added that the bill clarifies that minimum penalties which may be imposed under section 3 of the Combating of Rape Act 2000 apply equally to rape under common law, as well as attempt, conspiracy and incitement to commit rape. Because in government’s view and in light of aggravating cases of rape across the country, these are appropriate penalties to demonstrate that the State takes the offence of rape seriously but also resolves to deter [would-be] offenders from committing this offence.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency