Question NW75 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
26 February 2018 - NW75
Stander, Ms T to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
(a) What is the total number of persons who have been (i) charged, (ii) prosecuted and (iii) convicted for female genital mutilation in each province (aa) in each of the past three financial years and (bb) since 1 April 2017 and (b) what are the details of the sentences handed down in each successful conviction?
Reply:
I wish to inform the Honourable Member that female genital mutilation is currently not defined in terms of the South African common or statutory law as a criminal offence.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, as well as the National Prosecuting Authority therefore do not have any such charges and convictions on its statistical databases. An accused person may however, be criminally charged with an offence, for example, of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm, if female genital mutilation was inflicted. Such cases would however not be reflected separately in the statistical data bases.