Victim-blaming narrative rejected by High Court in landmark rape ruling
A recent High Court ruling highlights the dangers of victim-blaming, as a judge condemns a statement made in an appeal that suggests victims should escape their circumstances.
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A 10-year prison sentence for a convicted rapist has been upheld by the Paarl Regional Court.
The court dismissed Barend Booysen's appeal, in which he claimed he was wrongly accused of rape because the complainant feared her aunts and grandmother would be angry for coming home late at night.
Booysen pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape.
In concluding her ruling, Western Cape High Court Acting Judge Phillipa Van Zyl said: “I should mention that, in his petition, the appellant raised as a ground of appeal that it ‘would have been expected of a victim to try and escape knowing what is about to happen for a second time’. This is a deplorable statement, and one that I hope not to see again in matters of this nature.”
According to court records, Booysen and the complainant did not know each other well, even though they were colleagues where they worked on farm Heksberg in Wellington.
On the day when the rape incidents occurred, the complainant accompanied her cousin to Hermanus after acquiring the services of Booysen, who was a driver on the farm.
The complainant testified that she did not want to go with, but relented upon her cousin’s insistence.
Court documents read: “The complainant initially seated herself at the back of the vehicle, but her cousin insisted that she move to the front passenger seat. After they had dropped her cousin in Hermanus, the complainant and Booysen drove back to the farm. When they reached the Franschhoek Pass, (he) stopped the vehicle at a big rock, climbed over to the complainant’s seat, and positioned himself behind her.”
According to the complainant, Booysen, with his one hand, grabbed the back of her neck and forced her towards the driver's seat, and proceeded to rape her without a condom. The complainant testified that during the incident, she was crying, screaming, and resisting. Afterwards, he told her not to tell anyone and climbed back to his seat.
Another rape incident took place during their drive back from Hermanus before Booysen then dropped the complainant off at home.
The next morning, the woman told her friend what had happened and the rapes were reported to police.
During the trial, Booysen testified in his own defence and did not call any other witnesses. He denied raping the complainant, stating that they had consensual sex after drinking beers along Franschhoek Pass.
It was Booysen’s submission that there had been previous occasions on the farm when he had made advances towards her, but she would always jokingly rebuff him.
According to him, he therefore did not think it inappropriate to ask for sex while they were drinking.
The J88 medical report showed no clinical evidence of drugs or alcohol in her system. The doctor’s clinical findings were that there were no injuries noted except a bruise on the complainant’s right thigh, and there were no vulvar injuries noted.
In May 2023, Booysen was sentenced to 10 years' direct imprisonment for each count. The sentences are running concurrently.
In his appeal, Booysen submitted that the “Regional Court evaluated the evidence in a piecemeal fashion, highlighted a few unsatisfactory aspects in the appellant's (Booysen’s) evidence which was not of such a serious nature that it materially affected his credibility, and did not exercise proper caution in considering the complainant’s evidence”.
Acting Judge Van Zyl held that the onus is on the State to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and not above all reasonable doubt.