Defence Minister Mapisa-Nqakula on sexual abuse by SA peacekeepers

South Africa has the highest number of women deployed in peacekeeping missions‚ which is helping to turn the tide against sexual abuse by troops and UN staffers.

The issue has been a key focus for UN secretary General Antonio Guterres since his appointment. On Monday it was discussed at a high-level meeting at the United Nations.

One key element to stamping out the abuse is increasing the number of women in the field‚ which results in “higher reporting of incidents and lower numbers of incidents overall”‚ he said.

In an interview after the UN meeting‚ Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said South Africa had the highest number of women deployed in peacekeeping missions - with deployees ranging from engineers to doctors.

“We deploy a number of women as part of the peacekeeping force because we know women will be more sensitive‚ but also because women will feel more free to report incidents of abuse‚” she said.

The United Nations also forbids its troops from procuring the services of sex workers and developing relationships in the communities they serve as these were often founded on improper power relations.

UN statistics show that South Africans were implicated in 15 incidents since 2015 - two of these involved sexual abuse and 12 exploitation. Seven incidents were reported in 2016‚ and two so far this year.

“I'm not proud of the fact that we've had one or two cases reported to us‚ I'm not. I'd rather have no cases‚ but we do find ourselves in that kind of situation‚” Mapisa-Nqakula said following the meeting on Monday.

She said there had been a decline in the number of complaints featuring South Africans but “even one complaint is too many”.

She said all troops being deployed were trained and briefed so that they were aware “what the consequences are going to be in the event that you get involved in such an activity”.

She personally briefed the last rotation of troops deployed in May.

“Sometimes there is this idea that where there is consent‚ then it's okay. The point is you are there to protect the most vulnerable‚ and therefore to say there was consent - what consent?” she said.

“A vulnerable person sometimes will consent out of fear - fear of intimidation‚ and sometimes‚ it's because of the socio-economic conditions they find themselves in.”

President Jacob Zuma said a team of investigators was on standby to be deployed within 72 hours of a complaint and Mapisa-Nqakula said military courts would prosecute those implicated.

“There is some clear action taken and it sets an example and it shows other soldiers: if you do it‚ these are the consequences you will be confronted with‚” she said.