SEXUAL ABUSE, POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS SYNDROME AND PRESCRIPTION – A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SOUTH AFRICAN AND DUTCH POSITIONS

Abstract

Sexual abuse is not something the victim thereof discloses easily; on the contrary it is likely to give rise to feelings of shame and self-loathing. Facing the perpetrator and accusing him or her in a court of law is even more difficult. It is not surprising that perpetrators of these deeds will hardly ever be faced with criminal or delictual consequences of their vile conduct. When the victims eventually muster the courage to speak, it is often too late, because the sell-by date of the remedy has passed. The crime or delict, depending on what recourse the victim is seeking, has prescribed. The Supreme Court of Appeal recently allowed a claim which to all intents andpurposes had prescribed. In the Netherlands the prescription period in the case of sexual abuse likewise makes allowances for the victims of sexual abuse. This note proposes to compare recent case law of the Supreme Court of Appeal and the Hoge Raad (Dutch Supreme Court of Appeal) against the background of the different prescription provisions which apply in the two countries.