Faculty of Law
Department of Mercantile Law
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
A study was conducted on the current legal position regarding the possibility of a male person being raped and, if so, the crimes of which the perpetrator would be convicted. It was found that, although a male person can be raped by a person of either sex, the South African law does not award adequate protection to male-rape victims.
According to the common law definition of rape, only a man can be the perpetrator and only a woman can be the victim. Legislation furthermore only provides for a male victim to be sexually assaulted, not raped.
The South African Law Commission has compiled a draft bill on sexual offences that includes the possibility of male persons being victims of rape. This sex-neutral definition of rape is considered to be a significant step forward.
It is, however, alarming to note that the proposal was made in 1997 and that government has done nothing since then to approve the bill.
Mr SP Van Zyl
Mercantile Law
+27 (0) 12 420 2377
sp.vanzyl@up.ac.za
Research was conducted on the calculation of contingency deductions in the case of a claim for future loss of earnings. A particular focus of the research was the influence of a claimant’s future HIV/AIDS status on such a calculation.
It used the case of Zakhele Khumalo, a seven-year-old black child paralysed in a motor vehicle accident, as an illustration of the problem. In calculating the extent of their liability towards Khumalo, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) decided to take Khumalo’s possible future HIV status into account in determining his life expectancy and future loss of earnings.
The researchers conclude that this decision unfairly discriminated against Khumalo, and that there is no justification for such discrimination in general. Although HIV/AIDS has an impact on a person’s life expectancy, perhaps even reducing the average South African’s lifespan, the RAF, by singling out Khumalo’s claim, is discriminating against him on the grounds of race. Such discrimination only serves to stereotype black people as likely sufferers of HIV/AIDS.
Ms D van der Nest
Mercantile Law
+27 (0) 12 420 2364
daleen.vandernest@up.ac.za
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