School of Law (ETDs)

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Start date: 2020Subject: search.filters.subject.SDG-5: Gender equality

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    Decision Making and Case Attrition in Rape Cases: A Feminist Jurisprudence Perspective
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2025-06-12) Lebitse, Palesa; Madlingozi, Tshepo
    This study is an empirical study of prosecutorial attrition in rape cases. The study uses mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) to examine data derived from Umlazi Police Station in KwaZulu Natal. This thesis is approached from a feminist jurisprudence perspective to analyse legal texts that critically identify gender inequalities. Feminist critical theorists predict that external factors in the legal system that go beyond the actual legal burden influence the outcome of cases. This study tests the hypothesis, among others, that many of the decisions to decline prosecution in cases of rape are based on extra-judicial factors such as the complainant-perpetrator relationship; the complainant’s character; and/or their credibility that contributes to or causes case attrition. In cases of rape, extra-legal variables are believed to have a significant influence on the decisions and actions of the key players within the criminal justice system. The results of this study make it possible to examine any correlation between procedural obstacles and outcomes in South Africa. With these findings, we can gain insight into the impact of rape law reform on the prosecution of cases in South Africa, taking into account the subcultural theory and downstream theory of rape.
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    Prosecutorial Attrition: Its Implications for South Africa’s Domestic and International Obligations to Uphold Women’s Human Rights
    (2021) Lebitse, Palesa; Meyersfeld, Bonita
    John Dugard states that a general rule of international law dictates that the conduct of a person with authority is an act of a state; however, the conduct of a private person is not considered to be an act of a state. An example is the state prosecutor. This research is concerned with the attrition of rape cases, with the purpose of determining whether rape prosecution failure is an international wrong of the state. To answer this, this study aims to broadly assess whether rape case attrition in South Africa is due to prosecutorial discretion being exercised in a deficient manner inconsistent with international human rights law, which leads to a violation of women's human rights and impunity for rape. This research will analyse evidence (i.e., the MRC report) that shows that prosecutors do not factually comply with international and constitutional standards. It is against the backdrop that this research argues that South Africa must ensure effective investigation and prosecution of rape cases to achieve compliance with international standards and the Constitution.
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    Strengthening Accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence under International Human Rights Law
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Leung, Ka Yan; Chenwi, Lillian
    This research report critiques the current mechanisms available for ensuring accountability for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in the context of international human rights law. It appraises the international, as well as regional, legal frameworks for SGBV, identifying common mechanisms flowing from those instruments. The report also identifies gaps and current challenges in the efforts to provide increased accountability for survivors and victims of SGBV. Key findings include an inefficient, heteronormative approach in respect of, and protection for, non-binary and gender-diverse victims of SGBV, and poor reporting by states in terms of the international human rights instruments. It concludes that taking a more gender-inclusive approach to instruments, and advocating for a new binding instrument with a more encompassing human-rights framing, may be of value, alongside the development of more progressive feminist jurisprudence. While these solutions do not claim to be the cure for all SGBV violations, they will greatly contribute to the protection of persons affected
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    A feminist ontology to data commercialisation: Evaluating women's access to information and privacy within the medico-legal sphere in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Neto, Ângela Pacheco; Swemmer, Sheena
    With the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, rapid exchanges of data have intensified. Technologies like biometric monitoring, female-oriented technologies, and artificial intelligence bring with them a host of legal issues related to consent, access, privacy, and liability. Vulnerable populations or groups must be given particular attention as standard data practices serve to reinforce existing inequalities. For this reason, female-directed and female- generated health data is specifically considered herein. By employing a data feminism lens, it becomes apparent that the current South African regulatory framework has been legislatively misapproached with regards to the medico-legal sphere in South Africa. The methodology herein draws on critical review methods, thematic analysis, and legal discourse analysis, ultimately utilising the general principles of research inherent in the socio-legal sciences. A responsive and flexible health data law that incorporates intersectional narratives is advanced. This holistic response must account for the two-faced coin of female access to information and privacy in order to address historical structures of power inequity