Call for teen sex to be legal is 'from the devil'

Organisations who have called for the decriminalisation of consensual sex between teenagers are “agents of Satan”.

This is according to one of the organisations which made submissions on Wednesday to parliament's Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services about the proposed amendments to the so-called Sexual Offences Act.

The committee has been tasked with remedying the defects in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act after the Constitutional Court, in two landmark judgments, struck down two sections of the 2007 Act and ordered parliament to change it.

The court said that the Act, which made consensual sexual acts between children aged between 12 and 15 a crime, infringed on the children's constitutional rights.

The bill now states that consensual sexual acts with a child between 12 and 15 years old is a crime only when the other party is more than two years older.

On Tuesday, the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (RAPCAN) said it will be damaging to children if they engage in consensual sex but could then face a criminal charge.

Mkhangeli Matomela from the Kingdom Governance Movement said: “I want parliament to look into these organisations, these groups... This is not accidental, it is a campaign to corrupt society. They are so-called agents of Satan.”

Accusing democracy of selling its soul, he called for the Constitution to be amended to reflect the "values of the people" and said that a referendum should be held to determine these.

But the Women’s Legal Centre highlighted the “disproportionate effects” that the criminal justice system has had on teenagers who are prosecuted for consensual sex.

They reiterated that decriminalisation would not mean that teenagers are being encouraged to have sex.

Steven Swart, member of the committee said: “My concern again is that if we pass this bill we will be seen as promoting immoral values.”

One submission was made by a member of the public. Ntabiseng Moleko from the Eastern Cape said that she was “really saddened” when she heard about the proposed amendments. She questioned how children will be sexually responsible when many adults in the country are not.

Others like the Muslim Judicial Council called for teenagers to “suppress their natural urges" until they get married.

The public hearings on the bill continue next week.