Women's Legal Centre fights for the right to name accused rapists before plea

FIGHTING for the right to name rape accused before they plead in court, the Women's Legal Centre (WLC) has launched a digitally-led national civil disobedience campaign called “Nxme Him”.

- NICOLA DANIELS

This campaign supports the current case before the Western Cape High Court where WLC is challenging the constitutionality of certain provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act which prevents rape survivors, witnesses, supporters, or journalists from naming an accused rapist before he has entered a plea in court.

This constitutional challenge follows criminal charges laid against lifelong gender and community activist, Caroline Peters. While supporting a rape victim at court, Peters, who is represented by the WLC, publicly identified a man accused of rape by posting his name on social media after he appeared in the Wynberg Court on a charge of rape. The accused had not yet pleaded to the sexual offence charge.